{"id":124226,"date":"2021-05-07T19:41:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T19:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=124226"},"modified":"2021-05-07T19:41:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T19:41:11","slug":"sage-scientists-warn-boris-johnson-not-to-tell-office-staff-to-return-to-desks-this-summer-over-covid-third-wave-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/sage-scientists-warn-boris-johnson-not-to-tell-office-staff-to-return-to-desks-this-summer-over-covid-third-wave-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Sage scientists warn Boris Johnson not to tell office staff to return to desks this summer over Covid third wave fears"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAGE scientists have warned Boris Johnson not to tell workers to go back to the office this summer over fears of a third wave of Covid.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister urged office staff to return to their desks last summer as coronavirus cases fell – but Sage members have cautioned against any similar calls this year.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd35<\/strong> Read our\u00a0coronavirus and green list announcement live blog\u00a0for the latest updates<\/strong><\/p>\n


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The "work from home" message was brought in at the start of the first lockdown last March.<\/p>\n

But the advice changed during the summer as\u00a0Covid\u00a0cases eased and employees were urged to return to their offices in a bid to get Britain working again – despite objections from Labour MPs and trade unions.<\/p>\n

Rather than telling people to stay at home, Johnson said: "I think we should now say, \u2018go back to work if you can\u2019."<\/p>\n

But a senior Government adviser told\u00a0The Times\u00a0that any mass return to offices this summer would be a bad idea – until the impact of the lockdown easing is better understood.<\/p>\n

And Ian Boyd, a member of Sage and a professor at the University of St Andrews, added: "Based on the information I have seen we should not become blas\u00e9 about the capacity of the virus to jump back at us. <\/p>\n

"Retaining sensible measures to reduce the rate of non-essential contact between people is proportionate in the circumstances."<\/p>\n

But Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick and a member of Spi-M, the Sage modelling committee, said "at some point we also need to have some kind of return to normality from a mental health and wellbeing perspective".<\/p>\n


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"What I really think is important though is that people are allowed to stay at home when they are ill and are given support to do so," he added.<\/p>\n

"This is something that often did not happen before the pandemic and if there is a long-term change that we should adopt it is that – there should be a system in place to support people to stay at home if they are sick, for their own wellbeing and also the safety of others."<\/p>\n

Last summer, ONS figures said that nearly half of working adults in the UK were working remotely – compared to five per cent before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

As it stands, the Government's message is still "work from home if you can,"\u00a0in a bid to keep Covid levels at bay.<\/p>\n

'HYBRID' MODEL OF WORK<\/h2>\n

When Johnson announced the third national lockdown at the start of this year he said people should go to work only if they "absolutely" could not work from home.<\/p>\n

Now, nearly all of Britain's biggest 50 firms are planning a flexible work-from-home model following the Covid lockdown.<\/p>\n

The companies plan on using a "hybrid" model of work, allowing staff to work from home two or three days a week post-pandemic.<\/p>\n

A staggering 43 per cent of the country's biggest firms are on board with the hybrid working schedule, according to a survey.<\/p>\n

And just four employers are still deciding whether the mixture of\u00a0working from home\u00a0and office working will be beneficial for them.<\/p>\n

Insurance firm Aviva said 95 percent of its 16,000-strong work force want to be flexible and have the option to work from home.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, JP Morgan has had some staff back in the office and Investor Rathbones is operating at\u00a025 percent capacity with staff allowed to come back "if they wish".<\/p>\n

As we get closer to\u00a0June 21 when all social distancing is set to end, more staff may be able to work in offices as capacity increases.<\/p>\n