Nationwide (UK) rescinds 'work anywhere' policy, tells staff to come to office

theguardian.com

3 points·rawling··3 comments

> Joel Garner, the then chief executive, said that although the business was continuing to invest in office space to foster social contact, collaboration and creativity, workers “won’t be forced to return to an office”.

> However, on Tuesday his successor, Debbie Crosbie, who was appointed at the end of 2021 as Nationwide’s first female chief executive, unveiled a new policy that will require most staff to be in an office for at least 40% of their contract – two days a week for a full-time employee.

Many companies seem to settle (at least for now) for this hybrid model with 2 days in office. In most cases there does not seem to be a clear reason beyond compromise and "that's what others do, too".

My personal experience is that there may not be any thoughts or effort towards making the most of the days in office, which end up being like any other days (I.e. working in front of the computer screen) but in office.

One of the problems with this in the UK is that train fares really militate against part-time work. There are lines where the price for a monthly season, travelling every day, is little different than buying two daily returns each week. The Government has introduced a part time season ticket but the saving is miserly.

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