Numerous companies are worried that employees will return to the office en masse this winter to save on their electricity and gas bills. Yet many service companies, banks, audit firms and consultancy groups are not prepared for this, Mediahuis newspapers reported today.
In recent years, an increasing number of service companies have cut back on their office space, favouring higher quality but smaller buildings. To compound the issue, many companies have moved towards a hybrid working and teleworking in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. With many employees no longer going to the office every day, the concept of a fixed desk for everyone was abandoned.
Companies note that Tuesday and Thursday in particular are the peak times. "Those are the days when people prefer to work in the office. When everyone comes back, we will have to add chairs," says Axel Smits, chairman of PwC Belgium, one of the major audit and advisory groups. "There is not a fixed desk for every employee."
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Tension is also building between companies and employees. After coronavirus restrictions ended, many employees preferred to continue working from home as much as possible. This was subsequently written into collective agreements. On some days, only 20% of employees still came to the office.
Not all employers were equally enthusiastic about this. Now it is companies that are often requesting employees work from home to cut office costs.
