UK managers plan slow return for workers as Covid concerns remain

Just over half of UK staff are expected to return to their offices by the end of the year, according to a new survey. The vast majority of organisations questioned in the survey of 1,000 managers by the Chartered Management Institute said they had adopted a combination of home and office working for their teams, with an average of 44% of staff back in the workplace at least some of the time. Managers expect this to increase to just 56% by the end of 2021, suggesting that flexible working practices, adopted by many employees over the pandemic even after the national lockdown ended, are unlikely to fully unwind in the short term. The survey also revealed that close to a third of businesses have cut their office space as a result of bringing in hybrid working models. The FT (£)