Jeremy Hunt ridiculed for saying people are missing out on the 'fizz and excitement' of the workplace

Jeremy Hunt is being ridiculed for claiming that people working from home are missing out on the "fizz and excitement" of the workplace.

The former health secretary complained to Sky News's Kay Burley that it's proving difficult to encourage people to return to their offices. He said:

I think a lot of people found that it was much easier to work from home than they perhaps thought it would be. And that's why it's proving a bit more of a struggle to get people to go back to work, because people obviously find it's a lot more productive if they're not having to commute, but [...] the big problem is all those jobs in city centres that depend on people going back to work. 

I think there's also – as someone who ran their own business for many years – there's a creativity you get, a buzz, in an office, which you don't get when you're doing meetings over Zoom or Microsoft Teams. And there's only so long that you can carry on working completely remotely before you start losing the fizz and excitement that you get in a really good work place. 

Hunt founded Hotcourses, a company guiding prospective students towards suitable educational courses, in 1996 and served as its director until 2009. But some some vocal former employees have cast doubt on the atmosphere of "fizz and excitement" Hunt so fondly remembers...

In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for Jeremy Hunt told indy100:

You’d be hard pressed to find any large company that doesn’t have a couple of disgruntled ex-employees: Jeremy’s proud to have built a great British business that created hundreds of jobs.

Hotcourses have also been contacted for comment.

For most people, it seems "fizz and excitement" at work means a Fanta and a packet of crisps at lunch.

Hunt was branded completely "out of touch" by some.

Are office politics and commutes really worth it for "fizz and excitement"?

People are dubious...

The government are desperately trying to persuade people to return to their workplaces.

Boris Johnson even set up a LinkedIn account as part of a recent publicity drive.

Of course, there are some benefits to returning to our offices. But it's safe to say that the promise of "fizz and excitement" doesn't quite cut it.