Britons dump working from home as soaring energy bills chase workers back into the office
The cost of living crisis and soaring energy bills are causing people to abandon working from home, according to the latest Virgin Media O2 Business Movers Index.
The index showed that 56 per cent of the population is more inclined to work back in the office and now commuting four days a week or more because of soaring energy prices.
A reported 21 per cent of respondents said that free heating had encouraged them to go back to the office full-time, rising to 24 per cent for those over the age of 65.
London stood second in the highest commute growth this quarter at 2.8 per cent, falling behind Edinburgh which had a 4.6 per cent growth.
Last week’s release of Office National Statistics (ONS) data on cost of living concerns revealed that gas and electricity prices rose by 1.7 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively, in the year to September 2023.
These were both unchanged from August.
ONS also said that half of adults in Great Britain are using less fuel such as gas or electricity in their homes because of the rising cost of living.
Ofgem has recently expressed concerns over rising debt across the industry, which was an eyewatering £2.6bn this summer due to a rise in wholesale energy prices and a cost of living squeeze on consumers.
This index comes as Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, warned that “the worst is yet to come” for households.
He said they faced another winter of high energy bills on top of the economic gloom of the cost of living crisis.
Jo Bertram, managing director of Virgin Media O2 Business, said: “Our data shows increasing numbers of UK workers heading into the office — with free heating and the promise of stronger working relationships deemed more valuable as businesses continue to shape a balanced hybrid future of work.”