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Two-thirds of employees say working from home is more productive... but bosses disagree

A woman using a laptop on a dining room table set up as a remote office to work from home. Workers told to self-isolate due to coronavirus will receive sick pay from day one, the Prime Minister has announced, as England's Chief Medical Officer warned that a UK epidemic is now
A woman working from home during the pandemic. (PA)

Nearly two-thirds of British workers say they are more productive working from home - but their bosses don’t agree.

YouGov polling has found 60% of workers think they get more done at home compared to the “usual workplace”.

Only 17% said they do less work at home.

However, when business decision makers were asked if their workers are more productive at home, only 33% agreed, while 35% said they get less done.

YouGov's working from home polling. (YouGov)
YouGov's working from home polling. (YouGov)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found earlier this year that 84% of workers who had to work from home because of the coronavirus pandemic planned to mix working from home with going to the workplace in the future.

In April, there was outrage when Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for government efficiency, left notes in “deserted” Whitehall workspaces with the message: “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.”

Rees-Mogg later said: "While the private sector seems to have come to a reasonable equilibrium on home working, parts of the public sector seem to act as if they are still in lockdown."

Read more: How does the UK's cost of living support compare to major European countries?

In May, Boris Johnson also issued a call for a return to the office, saying working from home does not work.

The prime minister said staff are “more productive, more energetic, more full of ideas” when they are in the workplace alongside their colleagues.

“My experience of working from home is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you’re doing,” he told the Daily Mail.

He claimed getting workers back into the office would drive up productivity.