United Kingdom Minister for Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg has doubled down on his campaign to force Public Servants back into their offices, claiming they are “choosing to work a three-day week”, and want to stay at home “when it’s sunny or there is a major sporting event on”.
Mr Rees-Mogg said the most popular days for working in the office were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
“I do worry that the desire to take off Monday and Friday is an indication that people think that the working week is shorter than the reality is,” Mr Rees-Mogg said.
“One can’t help but be suspicious about the desire to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.”
He also suggested that some workers were choosing to work from home when there were popular sporting events on or if the weather was nice.
Mr Rees-Mogg urged senior Public Servants to return to the office and lead by example.
His comments echo Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s call for workers to return to the office, months after the Government removed its COVID-19 work-from-home guidance.
Mr Johnson said his experience of working from home “is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you’re doing”.
The Prime Minister claimed staff were “more productive, more energetic, more full of ideas when surrounded by colleagues”.
Mr Rees-Mogg’s pressure campaign came as Mr Johnson announced plans to axe around 90,000 Public Service jobs over the next three years in order to give a tax cut to struggling families.
News reports indicated that roles created to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic would be the first to go.
London, 16 May 2022
