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Civil servants want to work in the office just two days a week, survey reveals as ministers try to pressure Whitehall staff back to their desks

Civil servants are among those who prefer to work from the office the least despite ministers trying to pressure Whitehall staff back to their desks, a survey has revealed.

When asked how much they wanted to be in the office, civil servants said they would prefer to spend just 2.1 days each week on average.

The only sector that wanted to be in the office less were those working in telecommunications, the survey of 2,000 employees by recruitment firm Ranstad found.


Behind civil servants and telecommunications, those working in financial services (2.5 days), transport (2.6 days) and manufacturing (2.7 days) also showed little appetite for the number of days they had to be in the office.

It comes as Rishi Sunak continues his push to move Government workers away from working from home following the pandemic – a battle which was also faced by Boris Johnson and his ally Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Concerns have been raised that working away from the office is reducing productivity and leading to longer waiting times for services.

When asked how many days they wanted to be in the office, civil servants said they would prefer to spend just 2.1 each week on average

When asked how many days they wanted to be in the office, civil servants said they would prefer to spend just 2.1 each week on average

When asked how many days they wanted to be in the office, civil servants said they would prefer to spend just 2.1 each week on average


It comes as Rishi Sunak continues his push to move Government workers away from working from home following the pandemic

Last year, Mr Rees-Mogg, then the Minister in charge of Civil Service reform, left notes in his Cabinet Office department saying: ‘Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.’ He also shared a picture of an empty government office at 11am on a working day. 

The Randstad survey found that 60 per cent of respondents say that, in the past few months, their employer has become stricter about making staff come into the office.

Government figures released today showed that in the week commencing February 5, just 51 per cent of Home Office workers came into the office each day on average. 


Elsewhere, just 57 per cent of civil servants working for HM Revenue and Customs came into HQ each day, while the turnout for the Foreign Office was 61 per cent. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had the highest amount of workers in the office at 99 per cent – ten per cent higher than the Cabinet Office.

Debbie Porter, managing director at Destination Digital Marketing, told MailOnline that while many people will disagree, she believes work from home was ‘only ever meant to be a short-term fix for a once-in-a-lifetime crisis that Covid brought to us.’

She added: ‘There are lots of jobs that can function brilliantly as WFH roles, but they’re usually either jobs that are carried out by ‘lone wolves’, or in strictly task-orientated jobs. 


‘If you are at the top of your game professionally, and have no team that rely on you, and no need for others to input into what you do, then WFH creates a wonderfully quiet space for you to do what you need to do.

‘Businesses need to stay afloat, which includes creating a great company culture, dealing with succession planning, troubleshooting and quality assurance on work outputted, and training people to help them rise up the ranks. You can’t achieve all this through Zoom.’

Ms Porter said that the best way to create company culture and forge relationships is to gather everyone together physically.

She added: ‘Many people invoke the argument of saving travel time just so they can do something in an office that they can do from home. In my opinion, these are the words of people who don’t value relationships with other human beings.’


This week, the probate office reduced its phone helpline hours to 9am to 1pm in a desperate bid to clear chronic backlogs.

And in December, call handlers at HM Revenue and Customs told taxpayers to hang up the phone and seek help online before the January 31 tax assessment deadline. 

They said that advisers would only speak to those who were ‘digitally excluded’ or needed a ‘priority’.

Last week, HMRC admitted that its customer service levels for taxpayers using the telephone or post to reach it remain ‘below [its] service standards.’ 


They said an increase in the number of taxpayers, and a higher proportion of people with complicated queries, had affected its post and telephone services. 

Concerns have been raised that working away from the office is reducing productivity and leading to longer waiting times for services

Concerns have been raised that working away from the office is reducing productivity and leading to longer waiting times for services

Concerns have been raised that working away from the office is reducing productivity and leading to longer waiting times for services

HMRC was criticised with by MPs last month after call wait times increased by 62 per cent following a move to flexible working between the summer of 2021 and October last year. HMRC deny there is a link between flexible working and longer wait times.

The Mail on Sunday revealed in December that hundreds of civil servants are on full-time ‘home-working contracts’ and do not go into Whitehall at all.


The number who can permanently work five days a week from home has more than doubled this year, Freedom of Information requests  revealed. 

The Department for Business and Trade has started handing out specific ‘home-working contracts’ for the first time in the past year, and now has 207 staff WFH full-time. During the previous three years it had none.

In total, the number of contractual home- workers across eight Whitehall departments has leapt from 334 last year to 815 – making a mockery of Ministers’ attempts to get officials back at their desks.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said at the time: ‘These contracts are incredibly rare, only agreed in exceptional circumstances and remain below one per cent of the workforce.


‘We have set out new guidance stating that civil servants across all departments and regions are expected to be in the office a minimum of 60 per cent of the time.’

A HIVE OF INACTIVITY: Jacob Rees-Mogg's photo of an empty Government office in April 2022

A HIVE OF INACTIVITY: Jacob Rees-Mogg's photo of an empty Government office in April 2022

A HIVE OF INACTIVITY: Jacob Rees-Mogg’s photo of an empty Government office in April 2022

In November, Whitehall staff were told they must spend at least 60 per cent of their time working ‘face to face’ in the office, instead of simply being encouraged to turn up to the office two or three days a week.

The push back is part of a bid to boost productivity, following reports that it had dropped since the pandemic.


But hundreds of civil servants have been told they can work from home because of a lack of desk space. 

The Telegraph revealed that at Companies House, staff were unable to return due to there not being enough space in the office.

Cabinet Office minister John Glen has previously said those working in Whitehall have a responsibility to the taxpayer to come into the office more often.

He said he could tighten rules that mean staff have to come into work 60 per cent of the time.


The MP for Salisbury told the Times that the private sector companies such as Amazon and HSBC, which have imposed similar requirements on their workforces, are showing the benefits of this.

A government spokesperson said: ‘This survey represented fewer than 0.002% of civil servants. ‘We have always been clear on the benefits of collaborative face-to-face working, particularly for the development of more junior staff.

‘That’s why we have set out new guidance stating that civil servants across all departments and regions are expected to be in the office at a minimum of 60% of the time – in line with the broader public and private sector.’

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