'Essential' for staff to return to offices, says Telford & Wrekin councillor
Getting people back into offices is "essential" for the economy and councils should be among those returning to physical workplaces where safe, an opposition leader said.
Councillor Andrew Eade is of the view that so long as there are adequate social distancing measures in place and people feel safe coming into work, the economic and mental health benefits of workers seeing each other in person and spending their lunch money in town centre shops will be worth the added precautions.
Councillor Eade is the leader of the Conservative group on Telford & Wrekin Council and said that he is looking forward to physical meetings with his fellow councillors.
Meanwhile the council's provision for employees working from home has been defended as "robust", and no date has yet been set for a full return to the council offices.
Councillor Eade said: "It's essential that we do get the economy moving, for financial security.
"[Office working] also allows people more contact with work colleagues, which is very good for mental health.
"Human beings are social animals. Some people can be more productive at home, but there is not that social interaction.
"Having said that, it has to be done in a safe way. If businesses do it in a safe way and take the necessary precautions it is a good thing.
'I miss the interaction'
"A number of council employees would like the chance to see colleagues again, I'm sure that is the case across the board.
"I certainly miss the interaction of having meetings at the council, I miss meeting people face to face and perhaps going for a drink afterwards.
"I think as a nation we will have to live with Covid-19 for a long time – until a vaccine is found."
Councillor Rae Evans, the cabinet lead for council finance and governance, said that the council would not pressure employees to come into work.
"We have got very robust systems for working at home in terms of people's communication. We've got good IT so certainly the administrative staff who can work at home have continued to do so.
"We're quite proud of our flexibility in terms of how we work with our staff – we have staff who virtually never come into the office, even pre-Covid-19. It's not completely new."
She said that the council often employs flexi-working, so that while many staff will be at home while they work, on some weekdays they can still travel to town centres to spend their money on their own time.
"It's a really difficult balance but at the moment we're not pushing staff to go back into the office. Covid has not gone away."
The council's head office, where many of its employees are based, is Addenbrooke House in the centre of Telford.
