Mr. Feargal O'Rourke:

I do not think we will ever go back to having people in the office from dawn until dusk. It is just not going to happen. We are in an era of effective full employment now. Employees, in a way, probably have the upper hand and whip hand in a way they never had before. People have the right to say that this suits them better. Many great companies are offering not just that flexibility to work from home some days and work in the office some days, but also in-day flexibility. If people want to bring their kid to school or attend a recital they are having, they do not have to come in until 11 a.m. and they can make up the time at another time.

The position varies from industry to industry. Financial services tend to try more than others to get people back into the office. The more creative industries with skills like technologies and engineering are probably a bit more flexible. There are some industries where people have to be on site, for example, manufacturing. It varies by industry and geography. In the United States, not many people are coming into the office on the west coast. On the east coast, most people are back in the office. It is varied and it is not going to change. The best companies will recognise that a happy worker is a good worker and give people the flexibility they need.