The chief of the civil service has confirmed that he does not intend to alter the current work from home policy, stating that working in the office for three days a week seems to be the ideal balance.
Cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said he intends to ‘stick to it’.
Sir Chris’ stance seems to contrast with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s view, who criticized Whitehall civil servants in December for being too comfortable in a state of managed decline.
A recent survey conducted by the trade union representing Whitehall top officials revealed that three out of four participants feel that the compulsory three-day office presence rule has not been successful.
Sir Chris, who was appointed by Sir Keir to ‘rewire’ the way the British state works, told MPs that department leaders should always be considering appropriate ways of working that suit specific circumstances.
But during an appearance before the committee, he said the existing general rule that civil servants should spend a minimum of three days a week in the office will remain.
Sir Keir has slashed the aid budget to fund a dramatic increase in defence spending in response to ‘tyrant’ Vladimir Putin and uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s commitment to European security.
Chair of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare, described the announcement as amounting to ‘major changes in industrial production, almost sort of putting the whole nation on a war footing: procurement, extra expenditure, changes to overseas aid; that is going to have knock-on effects’.
Sir Chris Wormald, former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, is seen arriving at Covid-19 Inquiry public hearing ahead of giving evidence — November, 2023
Sir Chris’ comments appear to be at odds with Sir Keir Starmer who in December accused Whitehall civil servants of being ‘comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline’
He asked Sir Chris if he ‘sees urgent merit in bringing people back into the office so that those new cross silo relationships can be forged, rather than trying to do it with a lot of civil servants continuing to work from home’.
Sir Chris said: ‘We have a policy on this, as I’m sure you know, which is that people should be in three days a week. It needs to be applied with a level of common sense, depending upon the work that is being done.’
He added: ‘We’ve got no plans to change that policy, so I think we’ve hit roughly the right balance.
‘There is a big technology element, however and, of course, the Foreign Office is a great example of somewhere that manages to run a very effective network spread all over the world, using technology to do so.
‘So the face-to-face bit is very important, but it’s not the only thing.’
When asked if the current policy on homeworking would at least remain under review in response to ‘speedy and pressing challenges’, Sir Chris said: ‘No, we have set policy, and we intend to stick to it.
‘However, as I said before, there’s very much a horses-for-courses part for this. We are not saying every single department, every single building, you are flat rate doing that thing.
‘Individual permanent secretaries and secretaries of state should be in a constant state of thinking about what next is appropriate for that department in its circumstances, and this is quite a good example of how we need to work.’
A street sign pointing to Whitehall and Parliament Street in SW1, London. Four in ten civil servants told the FDA that working in the office three times a week had decreased their productivity
The FDA said that civil servants want working arrangements which focus on what they do rather than where they do it (file photo)
But 45 per cent of civil servants said they thought that office working is good for networking and belonging (file photo)
Sir Chris was also questioned on progress made in introducing a new way of working across Whitehall to ensure delivery of the Government’s missions.
He said the aim is to promote a ‘new style of thinking’ with a ‘laser focus on how we solve the problem and how do you have to think differently across organisations in order to solve that’.
However, he added: ‘We are seeing that type of thinking beginning to be put in place, particularly in the formal missions I’ve described, but it has got a long way to go.’
A new report published yesterday by the FDA found that four in ten felt the back-to-the-office drive ‘has decreased their productivity’ with only one in ten believing it had improved matters. Â
Many complain that they end up on virtual meetings even when they are at their desks, while others say they cannot sit with their team members because office space has been shrunk.
However they admit that turning up to work is good for networking and belonging, with almost half (45 per cent) keen for bosses to organise team-building events and social gatherings.
The FDA is now calling for a ‘comprehensive review’ of the 60 per cent office attendance mandate, which was imposed by the Conservatives after Covid but retained by Labour last year.
It also wants ministers to carry out an Equality Impact Assessment of the edict amid fears that it disproportionately affects disabled civil servants.
FDA General Secretary Dave Penman said: ‘This report demonstrates that civil servants do not oppose office work – they oppose top-down blanket mandates applied to over 500,000 staff in 200 different organisations that only deliver a culture of presenteeism.’
