Remote working is here to stay – but that doesn't mean the end of offices or city centres

When coronavirus lockdowns were introduced, the shift to remote working was sudden and sweeping. Now the British government is hoping the return to the office will be just as swift– to help the economy “get back to normal”. But pushing everyone back to the office full time fails to recognise the many benefits that working from home has brought. It also fails to capitalise on this moment of change. The mass homeworking experiment in the middle of a pandemic presented some of the most challenging circumstances possible. Yet, coming out the other side of it, there’s likely to be considerable resistance to simply readopting old ways of working. This is already evident at the start of a new research project I’m leading at Southampton Business School into the effects of COVID-19 on the workplace, called Work After Lockdown, with partners the Institute for Employment Studies and work consultancy Half the Sky.