One rule for them? Just 7 per cent of bosses are in the office full-time

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire industrialist and co-owner of Manchester United, last month ordered the football club’s staff to return to the office full time or seek “alternative employment”.

Calls to get people back into the office have also been echoed by senior politicians. Last year, Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, said that British businesses face a creativity crisis unless working from the office returns to being the “default”. 

The Government is expected to continue the back-to-work push under Labour, particularly for civil servants. 

Jonathan Ashworth, former shadow paymaster general, who has become the chief executive of think tank Labour Together since losing his parliamentary seat, said just before the general election that Labour wants to see civil servants spend most of their time in the office.

When asked if he would remove the requirement brought in by the Conservatives for civil servants to spend at least 60pc of their week in the office, he said it was “sensible” for them to be at their desks.

Private sector bosses struggling to get staff back into work are growing frustrated with their lack of control, with one manager saying that productivity is much worse and team culture is “not what it used to be”.

Online forums and TikTok posts have revealed the tactics employees are using to bend the rules on office attendance. 

This includes “coffee badging”, which is where employees scan in at work to satisfy attendance before rushing back home.

Two-thirds of respondents to IWG’s survey said they would lose talented people if they insisted on their employees being present in a central office every day, as nine in 10 work flexibly themselves. 

The research also found that three-quarters of business leaders noted improvements in employee engagement and collaboration between teams as a result of flexible working.