Psychology professor raises concerns about ending working from home too early
A West Midlands psychology professor has raised concerned about the Government's advice for employees to return to the workplace.
Occupational Health Psychologist at Birmingham City University Professor Craig Jackson believes people who feel safe working from home could face anxiety returning to their pre-pandemic routine.
He said: "It seems a retrogressive step for a Government to eschew hybrid working and to actively encourage a return to the old ways of working.”
"There will be many workers who have found a new balance to their working lives as a result of the lockdown, and many will not want to lose the benefits gained in the last few years, especially without good reason to."
He added: "The UK has already seen almost one million workers change jobs during the pandemic following the realisation that old ways of working were not in their best interests, and this workplace exodus may broaden further if the freedom to work progressively is discouraged.
"The consequences for workplace health and public health could be terrible if organisations make their workforces return to their workstations for the majority, or all of their working time, especially when coupled with no further requirements for people to isolate when ill with Covid-19, and a lack of free lateral flow testing kits made available."
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public on Monday the country was ready to return to normality after two years of restrictions.
