UK Restrictions Are Being Lifted, But Are Companies Ready?

Next week, workers in England will no longer have government-enforced guidelines telling them to work from home, but business leaders aren’t exactly eager to disturb current arrangements, especially if they are working.

In London, even banks who have historically been proponents of in-person work are not going to bring employees back full capacity anytime soon. For instance, JPMorgan Chase’s England offices will require face masks, rotating schedules and maintain a 50% occupancy limit.

This vigilant approach is being seen across many businesses in the U.K. as the threat of the delta variant looms. Now, without any guidance from the government, companies are waiting until the end of the summer to bring workers back in.

Even when employees do eventually return to the office, arrangements will look very different than they did pre-pandemic as companies reconfigure how their space is set up to accommodate a more flexible, hybrid future.

“I don’t think we really see “return to the office day” as a big event in our London office,” a spokesperson for financial technology company Revolut stated.