John Lewis has announced that its corporate employees will be spending more time in the office as part of an effort to stay competitive with its industry peers.

In a memo addressed to its head office staff, the company outlined expectations for employees to work “more in person than not.” This entails spending time in the office or engaging directly with suppliers and customers.

The retailer believes these adjustments will boost its revenue and lead to “better outcomes” in its operations.

John Lewis noted that many of its competitors have experienced enhanced collaboration and improved company culture, which have positively impacted their business performance by adopting a hybrid working model.

The proposed “hybrid model” is designed to balance increased in-person interactions with the advantages of working remotely, allowing employees to enjoy the flexibility of home-based work.

This move follows a challenging financial year for John Lewis, which, along with its Waitrose brand, reported a £21 million loss, a stark contrast to the £97 million pre-tax profit recorded the previous year.

Central office teams, including those working in HR and the finance department, need to be ‘spending more of their working week collaborating face to face with their team and others they work alongside’.

John Lewis said it is exploring options to ‘create more space’ in its offices to allow for more people to come in regularly.

A John Lewis spokesperson said: ‘While some in our industry are returning to the office full time, our policy hasn’t changed, and we are committed to the flexibility that comes with a hybrid approach.’ 

John Lewis corporate staff have been told they must be in the office more in a bid to keep up with its rivals

Many big firms have had to tighten the reins over staff working from home over the years since covid made it possible and desirable.

In January last year, Primark ordered employees on its product teams to be in the global head office in Dublin for four days a week – but they were allowed to carry on working from home and finishing early on Fridays.

It comes after workers at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this month won the right to permanently work from home.

Staff at the quango threatened to go on strike after bosses told them they had to come in the office for two days a week.

The dispute – which began two years ago – ended earlier this month after the ONS gave up trying to make staff come in.

Months of industrial action short of strikes happened after the organisation said staff would be required to return to the office 40 per cent of the week – up from 20 per cent.

The climbdown does not bode well for other public sector services attempting to get staff to return to the office.

Unions hailed the announcement as a ‘breakthrough’ which they said was the first time an office attendance mandate had been broken.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said the deal was ‘more sensible’ than the attempts to force staff to work from the office for two days.

Civil servants have been asking to work for home again so they can save money on travel as the war in the Middle East drives up the cost of living.

The main trade union for Whitehall officials is demanding ministers scrap the long-standing requirement that staff turn up to the office three days a week.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said the move would help struggling workers as the Iran conflict threatens to increase food prices as well as travel costs.

It also said the return to ‘wfh’ culture, which first took hold during the Covid pandemic, would save Government departments money as energy bills soar.

Latest official figures show that all but one of the main Whitehall HQ buildings had more than 60 per cent average occupancy in November, although numbers fell in December as staff took time off for Christmas.

The International Energy Agency has already suggested employees work from home to reduce demand for petrol, as well as driving more slowly or using public transport.

In December last year, the head of the NHS Sir Jim Mackey – nicknamed ‘Sleepy Jim’ after he was spotted snoozing in a first-class train carriage in the middle of a working day – ordered staff to ‘WFH’ less. 

The £300,000 chief executive of NHS England told staff they must work from the office ‘at least 60 per cent of the time’, according to the Health Service Journal.