AI threat will motivate workers to return to the office, says PwC chair

Workers will come back into the office because they worry about being outshone by artificial intelligence, the head of a major accountancy firm has predicted.

Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC, said the popularity of AI software will drive employees to abandon working from home as they want to “differentiate themselves from a robot”.

During a livestream event on AI technology for 25,000 of his staff last week, Mr Ellis told workers: “For professional services, where researching and summarising data is a key part of junior roles, AI has the potential to fast-track year one trainees to year three. You’re freeing people up to do more.

He added: “The latest wave of AI will likely bring people back to the office. People are going to want to learn from others face to face, and the best way a human can differentiate themselves from a robot is in person.”

Analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics has found that more than 40 per cent of civil servants are still working primarily from home, the Times newspaper reported.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) examined ONS data from January to March and found that private sector workers were more likely than public sector workers to be working primarily from home

A leading think-tank last week said the work from home “experiment”, undertaken by many companies, risked destroying London’s status as Britain’s growth engine and hurting younger workers.

The Centre for Cities said the economic power of people working in the same place was being underestimated by policymakers.

Chief executives including leaders at Disney and Apple have cited the creative power of office work when ordering staff back to the office.

While many workers have returned part-time, the average person working in London currently spends just 2.3 days in the office – primarily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Those following this schedule have been dubbed “TWaTs”, using the first letters of the days of the week for the abbreviation.

The think tank urged Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, to set an example with Whitehall and “work with businesses to encourage an increase of the minimum number of days expected in the office”.