Mark Dolan: We need to return to the office

Sir James Dyson, billionaire inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner has warned that the home working revolution is damaging productivity and killing collaboration, causing British businesses, to fall behind global competitors.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper Sir James cautioned that the economy “cannot afford such a lackadaisical approach” from the Government after it proposed legislation, that gives all employees the right to request flexible working when they start new jobs. Dyson accused ministers of trying to decide for businesses and ignoring the potential damage done to firms.

I trust the words of James Dyson. He only wants the best for this country.

This incredible inventor, who backed Brexit, has generated countless high quality engineering jobs, he has been a flag bearer for Great Britain plc, he pays over £120 million a year in personal tax to the UK treasury and his products are in my view pricey, but brilliant.

Now working from home has suited many people. Many of you have told me on this programme via email it has been a game changer, particularly if you own a pet or if you have a child, and nobody misses enormous cost of getting to work by bus, rail or car. I wouldn't begrudge anyone, the savings that they've made. And it's clear that in the office, as in so many other aspects of life, things will never go back to the way they exactly were in 2019. More’s the pity. Some jobs just don't need to be done and in an office. Many favour a hybrid option perhaps three days in the office and two at home. But it's important that we understand working from home comes at a price. 12 billion quid a year according to Dyson in terms of cost to the economy. Although I think you could hoover up many extra potential unseen costs from people working from home. Many peoples’ accommodation is not suitable for long working hours – crap wifi, noisy housemates, an uneven rickety desk plus it costs about a million quid a day to heat your home at the moment.

Going into a warm office this winter looks to be worth the rail fare.

Dyson also talks about creativity. People interacting, bouncing ideas off each other, reading body language, having a laugh. Zoom meetings are all well and good, but in terms of the office, it's the unplanned encounters, as you bump into a colleague in the corridor, or when put your head round the door of your bosses office with a random thought. And what about mental health? Colleagues are friends from my experience and if you go into the office, you have that support bubble. You can talk about work issues, problems you've got and have a right old natter at the water cooler about last night's Coronation Street.

Or what about that spontaneous visit to the pub after work to unwind with teammates? The team jog around the park at lunchtime, the Secret Santa gifts, the birthday cake in the office, showing new employees how the printer works and where the staplers are kept, and if we’re going to talk about office life, what about those stolen romantic glances with Sandra from sales. Or Alan in accounts. He is quite the dish is our Alan. And let’s not forget all of the businesses around our offices that rely on that lunchtime trip to Pret, Costa or Sainsbury's for their much loved meal deals.

I think the civil service and the public sector should lead the way back to bricks and mortar working, as an example. More office based work would surely improve customer service, which is now so bad – in inverted commas – “due to Covid”. That wretched excuse – due to Covid – must be consigned to the dust bin of history. Endless working from home is a bad deal for workers, a bad deal for businesses, a bad deal for the economy and a bad deal for society.

The man behind the bagless vacuum cleaner James Dyson is right. It sucks.