In an interview with LinkedIn news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said it was “really beneficial” being in an office at the beginning of his career. Talking about helpful relations he made working in offices at the start of his career as the British Finance Minister, Sunak said, “I have spoken previously about young people in particular benefiting from being in offices. It was really beneficial to me when I was starting out in my career.”
He added that on a visit to Scotland last week he met young people starting careers in financial services. “I was telling them the mentors that I found when I first started my job. I still talk to them and they have been helpful to me all through my career even after we have gone in different ways. I doubt I would have had those strong relationships if I was doing my summer internship or my first bit of my career over Teams and Zoom. And that’s why I think for young people in particular being able to physically be in an office is valuable,” he said.
He also said that the government has left the decision up to businesses. “We've kind of stopped saying that people should actively work from home and have now left it up to businesses to work with their teams to figure out the right approach.”
“In terms of a return to work, which we have said we would expect that and recommend that to be gradual from when the restrictions eased, in keeping with everything else that we are doing, it’s been gradual, it’s cautious, it’s careful, so there will be a gradual return back to the offices and I think that is what broadly will happen.”
