One of the enduring legacies of the Covid pandemic was the expansion of home working, as work suits were swapped for onesies, and the boardroom table for the kitchen table.

Successive lockdowns and enforced social distancing introduced arguably the greatest change in working arrangements since the Industrial Revolution.

Staff loved being able to set their own workplace conditions and an end to the gruelling commute. Businesses welcomed not having to pay extortionate city centre office rents and the costs of capital equipment.

But two years on, attitudes appear to be changing, as more employers realise that home working is not the account ledger panacea they through it was.

Major global companies, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Meta, Disney and Twitter are among those to have reduced the flexible working options available to teams, in the hope of boosting culture and productivity.

While some employees continue to enjoy the benefits of falling out of bed and switching on their PC, others are less convinced that the flexibility and convenience of home working really does add up to a better work-life balance.

Several recent studies have suggested that our love affair with home working might be waning.

Research by MHR, a software provider specializing in HR, payroll, and finance, revealed that 51% of employees preferred working in the office with flexible hours, compared with just 41% who said they would rather work from home with structured hours.

The survey of 1,200 office workers showed that 41% of respondents reported a perceived decline in support from management and team members while working from home.

For MHR's CEO, Anton Roe, the findings suggest the atmosphere and camaraderie of working in an office cannot be easily replicated in a remote work setting.

However, attitudes are not universal, with studies highlighting inequalities in who benefits most from remote working.

Managerial and professional employees are far more likely to be offered the chance to work from home, compared with manual and clerical workers, giving rise to claims that it has become little more than a bourgeois perk.

The future of remote work has also raised questions about the vitality of city centres. Vacant shopfronts and the decline of the high street have been accelerated by remote work and e-commerce.

City centres with more workers had a wider variety of amenities and fewer vacant units. The food and drinks sector thrived, as office workers spent on lunchtime meals and after-work drinks.

In contrast, weaker city centres have struggled to sustain more than essential amenities, due to a lack of jobs and well-paid employment. However, the absence of office workers, even as some return to the office, has hampered high street recovery, particularly in the food and drinks sector.

Working in a onesie may have its attractions, but it shouldn’t be prioritised at the expense of the economy.

Ivor Campbell is Chief Executive of Callander-based Snedden Campbell, a specialist recruitment consultant for the medical technology industry.