Why do conservatives dislike remote working?

Flexible working has helped women progress in the workplace. Since 2019, the share of women working fulltime in the insurance and finance sectors in the UK rose from 75% to 83%. The rate for mothers in finance rose more than ten percentage points. Overall the share of mothers in work reached a record 79% in 2023.

Now bosses want their staff back in the office, with half of companies requiring their staff to attend at least four days a week. Many women have chosen not to. The employment rate for women with dependent children has fallen from its peak, while that for men has remained steady. By the end of 2023, the difficulty of balancing work and childcare had pushed an estimated 250,000 women out of the workforce, with a worrying spike among the 35-44 year age group in many critical sectors.

Is this why conservatives are really pushing for a return to the office?

Source: The Economist, 13 March 2025.

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MommyLucy · 36-40, F

I think working from home not an office job but just a regular job could be a solution to get some learning disabled people to work without hurting their mental health! 😇😇😇 Some job places can be cruel and people with learning disabilities can sometimes be sensative and working can be overwelming for them! 😥😥😥 I am very lucky to have fantastic work friends but not everyone is so lucky and because of my autism I need to hang upside down when I come home to recharge! 🙃🙃🙃 However my youngest Emily is 13 but mentally a 6 year old so I wouldn't want her working somewhere where people are cruel when she is older because she is like a kid so I think working from home is a fantastic option for those with learning disabilities and if the government made jobs from home for the learning disabled who couldn't cope in a real job then welfare would only be needed for the extremely disabled like my son as those with mild learning disabilities can work safely from home! 😌😌😌

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@MommyLucy Absolutely. Even an office environment can be stressful and confusing for those who are hypersensitive to noise and light, or uncomfortable being surrounded by people. We are trying to redesign our office so it is welcoming to everybody, our quiet colleagues just as much as the extroverts.

Work should be a positive experience for employer and employee. If ot makes you feel ill there is something wrong with the relationship.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@MommyLucy In the town where I live we have a small company that exists to employ people who, for various reasons, cannot work in ordinary work places. It also acts as a place that assists people to get into regular employment after a long time unemployed, offering training or connecting people with other institutions that offer training.

I don't know how widespread such things are but it has always seemed like a good idea to me.

MommyLucy · 36-40, F

@ninalanyon We have things like that in blue states but sadly not so much in red states! 😥😥😥

MommyLucy · 36-40, F

@ninalanyon Speaking of different states in America every state has it's own laws and in some states especially red states workers rights and healthcare are awful but in blue states things are much better and swing states somewhere in between! 😇😇😇 For example in some red states you almost got no right as a worker and can literally be fired for almost no reason and obamacare gets less funding but in blue states we have extremely good workers rights and it is pretty easy to get obamacare! 💖💖💖 On a lot of issues the state you live in can help matters or make matters worse and I would NEVER in a million years move to a red state! (Except maybe Florida a big huge maybe because of Disney World but I'm told Orlando where Disney World is located is a Democrat area) 😘😘😘

ArtieKat · M

@ninalanyon There used to be a UK organisation called Remploy which did precisely that. I'm not sure why it collapsed.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@ArtieKat I am pretty sure it got burned in Cameron's bonfire of the quangos . . it was considered better to leave the job to local organisations.
To be fair, that agency had become a money pit for some corporations who chose to game the system.

I was a regular customer at a cafe mainly staffed by Downs and autistic employees. There are some hotels which do a great job in maintaining very diverse workforces.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArtieKat I'd forgotten about Remploy, they had a decent sized factory in the town I come from.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@SunshineGirl

better to leave the job to local organisations.

It might well have been but I bet that Cameron and co. didn't provide the funding.

ArtieKat · M

@ninalanyon, @SunshineGirl

Remploy, initially a government-run program providing sheltered employment for disabled people, transitioned to a new model in 2015, becoming a trading name of Maximus, a global leader in health and employability services. The Remploy brand was retired in England and Wales in September 2022, with all contracts now delivered under the Maximus brand, while it continues to be used in Scotland for the Fair Start Scotland contract.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArtieKat An American publicly traded company. It pays 25% of it's net income to shareholders (dividend payout ratio [1]), not quite in the spirit of Remploy I feel.

[1] https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/MMS/dividend/

ArtieKat · M

@ninalanyon Agreed