The office system which developed in the 19th century mirrored the factory system which developed at the same time. The serried ranks of workers chained to their high desks, whether clerks or later typists, was personified in the character of Bob Crachitt, Scrooge’s overworked, cold and underpaid clerk in Dickens’s novel “A Christmas Carol”. With the advent of the internet the rows of typists disappeared but the core of the office function remained tied to its 19th century role – a place where the boss could keep an eye on the workers and ensure that they laboured at pace.
Much of the current middle management class grew up with this system and feel most comfortable with it as do much of the senior management who run the large corporations. Part and parcel of the office system was the daily commute in large cities like London. The packed commuter trains and Tubes with their loads of joyless drones travelling through the suburbs were immortalised in many novels, including H.G. Wells’s work “The History Of Mr Polly” For generations this was seen as the only model of working with its accompanying overpriced season tickets and standing room only journeys.
Pandemic’s impact
The pandemic changed all this suddenly five years ago. Employers had to adapt to new ways of working and WFH (Working from home) appeared as a new reality. Many workers found that working from home allowed them considerably more flexibility in their work/life balance as well as giving them far more time without the daily commute. There was a very real clinical need for this as the avoidance of Covid-filled workplaces and public transport reduced infection rates considerably. However, this was a step too far for the Scrooge’s of the capitalist class. One of the most prominent among them was the arch hypocrite Rees Mogg. He went about Whitehall leaving notes on civil servants’ desks, that their absence had been noted,.
The railway companies were losing valuable revenue with the loss of commuter traffic, as were the owners of the suddenly half empty office blocks in the city centres. The health of the workers was secondary and as soon as possible the hue and cry began calling for a return to the office. We have seen how the authorities have promoted the illogical notion of not wearing facemasks in hospitals because ‘patients wanted to see health workers’ smiles’. A similar flawed nostrum of a lack of productivity by those working from home appeared around the same time. Despite many studies showing no fall in productivity and an increase in wellbeing and mental health among those not following the traditional work path, the forces of reaction began to push back.
Bosses do not care about workers’health
Most of these workplaces have done nothing to make their spaces safer for their workers, regardless of their clinical vulnerability to Covid and flu. Very few have improved ventilation as shareholders and directors’ salaries are more important than the health of their workforce. Similarly, little has been done to improve ventilation on public transport. The government has rejected the need for masking in public places and transport, despite the fact that the World Health Organisation has consistently called for this. These areas remain packed vectors of infection. More and more employers are waving the big stick and threatening their staff that if they don’t return to the office the consequences will be dire. Unions and workers are fighting back. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has called a strike for admin workers in the Met Police who were used to flexibility but were ordered back to the office.
A recent article https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1905162/long-covid-tribunal-claims-surge-employers-grapple-long-term-sick-leave-analysis-finds
sets out how Long Covid claims against employers are mushrooming at industrial tribunals. It has long been known that the more times someone is infected with Covid the more likely they are to develop Long Covid and a possible lifelong disability. Yet as usual, employers would rather ignore the rapidly sickening workforce and instead of ensuring safer workplace, drive their staff back to virus ridden offices like cattle. This is the outdated thinking of the Victorian overseers and will ensure a rapidly diminishing and sicker workforce as well as doing nothing to prevent the climate crisis, which less commuter traffic would do. The only light at the end of the tunnel is the putative changes to employment law promised by the new government, which would include a right to flexible working. No doubt this will lead to a chorus of alarm from the right-wing press and dinosaur employers, who at the same time will not spend a penny to improve the safety of their workplaces. Not only for those with Long Covid but also for the thousands who die each year from flu and other respiratory viruses.
Fighting back
The trade union sponsored Hazards organisation is holding a conference at the end of this month on safe workplaces. It is important that health and safety reps in unionised workplaces, as well as health and safety organisations, continue to lobby for safe workplaces and public transport but also support the movement for flexible and hybrid working, which with its mental and physical health benefits needs defending. Productivity is far more likely to be higher among a healthy and happy workforce than a downtrodden, sullen and sick one.