Today, all COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted in the UK, prompting businesses to evaluate how and where they will work moving forwards. The organisations that will thrive in this transition will be those that take learnings from the past 16 months and implement effective change. Organisations must acknowledge that technology has been critical in aiding office workers to settle into the pattern of remote or distributed work, and it is set to be just as important in welcoming employees back to the office over the coming months. Below, business leaders from a variety of technology companies have shared their reflections on today’s ‘Freedom Day’ to highlight what the future of work will look like, and how best organisations can succeed.

Jamie Milroy, CEO & Co-Founder at DASH Rides

The message may be one of caution, but Boris has sent a clear signal that businesses can reopen. Freedom Day won’t necessarily mark a mass return to the workplace, but it does represent an important milestone for organisations and the start of a new era for working post-Pandemic. Businesses must take this golden opportunity to create new practices and policies that align to changing employee expectations and meet the needs of today’s workforce. Building safe and sustainable travel into the heart of back to work strategies will be critical in helping people return safely and confidently.

Our relationship to the daily commute has irrevocably changed. Employees are increasingly calling out for new modes of travel that improves not only their health, wellbeing and productivity but their environmental footprint too. With many UK workers citing the daily commute as a barrier to a full-time return to the office and 82% stating they would like their employer to use COVID as a catalyst to revamp their employee benefits, such as travel or cycle to work schemes, we’re already seeing sustainable travel become central to the future of work. As much of the workforce starts a gradual return to offices, businesses need to have an action plan in place to ensure their people can commute safely, flexibly and sustainably.

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