I disagree completely with your editorial suggesting that a centralised office life is vital to the British economy. I have long believed that centralised office accommodation and the supporting retail economy has massively over-expanded as our manufacturing base has contracted.
Centralised offices do not add to productivity and serve only to impose an environmental burden. Any gains from social interaction are negated by the need to transport masses of commuters, wasting time during travel, and the activities of the service economy supporting those offices. My experience of office working was one of colleagues discussing matters that had nothing to do with work and added nothing to the quality of their work. We would be better served by exploiting the digital economy and using offices as meeting places where social interaction can contribute to productivity.
Alan Finlay
Editor's reply
Dear Alan
I’m sorry you’ve had such a tedious time of it, but you are wrong to suggest centralised office work is not more productive in most businesses, particularly in the highly skilled areas such as financial services, business services and the media where London excels. While it is possible to keep companies ticking over remotely, when it comes to creative expansion, there is no substitute for face-to-face working. Employers should get their staff back into the office.
Jim Armitage, Business Editor
Saving theatres
London theatres are under threat of closure due to the Covid crisis. MPs should pass an urgent Moratorium Bill to protect the fabric of the buildings themselves, and to prevent any future change of use of all commercial theatres. Only in this way will the buildings be preserved by being temporarily boarded up and protected from vandalism, illegal occupancy and feral rodents — so they will be able to reopen undamaged.
Sebastian Wheen
