Lord Alan Sugar has become the latest high-profile business leader to attack distant jobs, insisting that young people “want to sit at home” and need to bring their “tramp back to the office.”
Speaking to the BBC, the 77-year-old entrepreneur and apprentice star said workplace culture has suffered since the introduction of hybrid and flexible policies during the pandemic.
“I’m a big fan of getting them back to work,” said Candy. “The only thing apprentices have to learn is to learn from his colleagues. It’s a small thing, like interaction with your more mature colleagues, which will tell you how to do it, how to do it.
Sugar’s property group Amsprop, which owns a large number of central London office buildings, said he recognizes that certain roles may be exceptions. He noted: “Software writers who wake up at three o’clock in the morning may be better at home, as well as people with disabilities.
His intervention continued to split Britain as debates on the future of work. Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that as of October 28% of the workforce are being mixed – allocating their time between home and office. There are 44% of the commutes per day, while 13% are completely distant. Many respondents from the ONS survey said hybrid work improved their rest, exercise and well-being.
The Labor government is preparing legislation to make hybrids an employee’s right unless its employer can prove that it is unreasonable. While many of the UK’s largest companies have already moved in the opposite direction, the Employment Rights Act will expand flexible job options across the economy. Amazon, JP Morgan and others ordered employees back to the office full-time, believing that face-to-face connections can improve collaboration and productivity.
Landlords warn that the mixed trends make commercial properties more difficult to rent and profitable. Sugar’s comments highlighted the concerns of those who invested in the UK office.
His intervention came with the intervention of business veteran Lord Stuart Rose, Max and former chairman of Spencer and Asda, who earlier this year announced that working from home was not “proper job” and that it was “20 years” in terms of productivity and well-being.
For sugar, the problem is most severe for young workers and apprentices, who say they are at risk missing out on informal learning opportunities. He repeated: “They have to get their vagabonds back to the office.” He warned that if distant jobs become the norm, the work culture in Britain could change permanently.
