'Sitting at home in your bedroom won't advance your career': Travelex founder rails at WFH

27 January 2022, 10:27 | Updated: 27 January 2022, 10:29

'Employees must return to work' says businessman Sir Lloyd Dorfman

Bosses need to be "tougher" about getting people back in the office and employees risk their career progression by working from home, Sir Lloyd Dorfman.

The Travelex founder told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast there is "still a bit of a drag" in employees returning to workplaces despite working from home restrictions being lifted last week.

"I think it's really important that employers do everything they can to encourage and get people back," he said.

He told Nick "employers should be careful they don't end up sleepwalking into basically paying for four-day weekends" while if employees want to progress their careers they should "want to be involved and sitting at home in my bedroom ain't going to help that".

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It comes as England officially moves from Covid Plan B to Plan A on Thursday, with passes for large events and nightclubs and face masks now no longer mandatory.

People are still encouraged to wear masks if they are in crowded or enclosed spaces with people they do not normally meet.

Working from home guidance was dropped with immediate effect last week as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced restrictions were being eased.

However despite some improvement in office working, Sir Lloyd warned that without more "it's very difficult for businesses to generate collaboration, educate their younger members and also I would be worried about businesses losing their competitive edge."

He added: "I think we surprised ourselves with how well we coped during the pandemic but we shouldn't extrapolate that into 'this is a way to build world-leading competitive businesses'."

Bosses "need to be tougher", he said, adding: "I'm getting a sense that they're all a bit nervous and employees are saying I'm going to find a job where I can sit at home when I want to and all the rest of it.

"If you were building a business today you want your team around you - yes there would be more working from home, we know how we can do that through Zoom calls and everything else - but you want to be part of my business, you want to help build this into a successful business, you want to progress your career, be with me, sit with me, come let's do this together."