The remote rebels fighting the office order
The business news that matters.
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch…
Staff at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) hit the headlines last week for refusing to comply with commands to return to the office two days a week. Following a poll, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said that its members voted to defy the newly introduced “40% of the week in the office” rule and are due to take industrial action next week.
The ONS joins a long list of companies, which includes Amazon, Osborne Clarke and HSBC, that have mandated an office return. Research from recruitment company Hays revealed that 43 per cent of workers have now returned to the office but that hasn’t put the future of work discussion on hold.
Discussions on what the future of work will look like are continuing as companies try to find the right strategy for them post-Covid. But we have spoken to some of the Business Leader audience that have decided not to force a return to the office to find out why. We also got their top tips for making this working arrangement stick.
Here are a few snippets:
We have to make sure team leaders’ communication is crystal clear. Our success comes down to how effective and clear the communication is across the business, and across time zones and jurisdictions.
Kevin Fitzgerald, Employment Hero
Our culture is very much built around freedom and flexibility and being trusted.
Toby Harper, Harper James
We move faster and we are more together than any office I’ve ever worked in. With all the sluggishness that an office environment can bring, I think we’ve been able to move more nimbly and quicker.
Darran Garnham, Toikido
As other companies start to require people to be back in the office, it’s causing a shake out of people who aren’t willing to work like that anymore.
Matthew Crummack, Domestic & General
You can find the full article packed with more tips and handy info here.
Podcast…
The latest episode of the Business Leader podcast sees us talk to Kevin McCabe about how he built a property empire and then ended up running Sheffield United, his beloved football club.
It is a story that has highs, lows, controversial goals and legal battles…
You can listen to the episode on Substack here, Spotify here and Apple here
Other stories that matter…
1. The OECD is predicting that the UK economy will grow by just 1 percent next year, the slowest growth of the G7. The think tank describes the UK economy as “sluggish”, blaming high inflation in some areas and interest rate rises as it cut its forecast for economic growth this year to 0.4 per cent, down from 0.7 per cent previously projected. Find out more here
2. The company that owns The White Company and Charles Tyrwhitt saw revenues rise by more than 20 per cent in the year to 29 July 2023. Bectin Limited has just filed accounts with Companies House that also show pre-tax profits fell from £63.6m to £48.9m. The White Company’s turnover increased by 4 per cent to £289.3m, while Charles Tyrwhitt’s soared by 45 per cent to £269.2m. Read more here
3. Shell beat analyst expectations in the first quarter with adjusted earnings of $7.7bn (£6.2bn). The results mean the company will start a $3.5bn share buyback programme over the next three months, as “staggering cashflows” give it room to increase its dividend. And some analysts want it to go further. Read the FT’s coverage here
4. Unilever held a tense annual general meeting yesterday as activists confronted the firm over its decision to pull back on some of its ESG targets. Some 98 per cent of shareholders backed its updated Climate Transition Action Plan. But Greenpeace activists disrupted events, while questions from shareholders were dominated by concerns over climate change, the firm’s presence in Russia and consumer health. Read more here
5. The FT has done an interesting deep dive into whether the type of “kinder capitalism” found at the John Lewis Partnership can survive in the ruthless world of online retail. The business, which owns John Lewis and Waitrose, is trying to balance its core purpose of putting employees first with being an efficient retailer. And while it maintains its appeal to older shoppers, the younger generation are less attached. Watch the film here
And finally…
Have you ever moaned about how much tax you pay or thought you could do a better job running the finances of this country than the chancellor? Then it’s your lucky day because the Institute for Fiscal Studies has created a tool that lets people play at being chancellor for the day.
The game (which is really what it is!) allows players to adjust spending plans and set tax policies, and then see how those choices impact borrowing and debt. I’ve so far managed to increase debt; seems my tax plans don’t offset my spending plans!
In his excellent Substack newsletter Klement on Investing, Joachim Klement does a better job than me at running the economy and explains his workings. It’s well worth a read before you have a go!
You can find his post here and the IFS’s tool here
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