'Working from home isn't real work'

The former Asda chief has hit out at the work from home culture during a recent interview. Lord Rose told BBC Panorama that home working is part of the reason why the UK's economy has seen a "general decline" and a fall in the productivity of employees.

His comments come after major companies like Amazon, JP Morgan, Boots and Manchester United F.C called to end remote working. Speaking to the BBC, Lord Stuart Rose, who was chief executive of M&S and recently stepped down as the chairman of Asda, said: "We have regressed in this country in terms of working practices, productivity and in terms of the country's wellbeing, I think, by 20 years in the last four."

The BBC reports that in December 2024, survey by the Office for National Statistics revealed that 26% of people said they had been hybrid-working in the prior seven days, with some days in the office and some days at home - while 13% had been fully remote and 41% had been fully office-based (the remainder were not working at the time).

Also appearing on the BBC show, employment rights minister Justin Madders said there was a growing body of evidence that working from home was more productive.

He also said it was good for growth because companies will have "a much more motivated workforce" and "if we're able to get more people into work because flexibility is available for them, that will help us reach our growth ambitions".