Nearly 3,000 members of the Armed Forces are still working from home, more than a year after the final COVID restrictions were discarded.
In total 2,832 troops from across Britain’s armed services are enjoying flexible working arrangements, figures by a newspaper outlet have shown.
The MoD has been actively trying to give its service personnel more leeway, with everyone eligible to ask for changes in their work patterns.
Troops can work at home for up to 30 days on an informal basis, and they don’t have to give commanding officers a reason why they want to do so when applying.
However, top brass say even when working from home, personnel are still liable to be deployed at short notice. Nor will those in vital front line or other operational posts have their applications approved.
Figures released following a Freedom of Information request show that in 2020 when the COVID pandemic was at its peak, 21,733 personnel were working from home, about 12.5 per cent of the Armed Forces. In 2021, 9,171 troops had taken up some form of remote or flexible working. Last year, the figure was 3,966.
Vice Admiral Phil Hally, Chief of Defence People, explained in a document about flexible working. He said that work wasn’t a place, it was something that they did, and that they continue to develop their flexible working offer to ensure it’s fit for people.
He said that he was proud of the work they have all done to mature the Armed Forces’ flexible working offer. Thousands of service personnel now enter formal flexible arrangements each year and hundreds have worked part-time.
The MoD is now actively recruiting staff on salaries up to £100,000 with one of the main advantages being that they can work from home.
Benefits available to troops include working a four-day week, job sharing and reducing their operational hours by up to 40 per cent. Such measures were introduced to encourage personnel not to leave their jobs following complaints about working conditions.
The figures come as Ministers draw up plans to force civil servants back to their desks. New guidelines are expected to limit remote working to one day a week to boost productivity.
The MoD said that they were grateful and proud of those who were ready to serve anywhere in the world to ensure the MoD meets all its operational responsibilities.
They added that they were clear about the benefits of face-to-face working, and the department was committed to having staff working in offices at pre-pandemic levels.
Everybody appears to be sleepwalking into an endless downfall towards an abysmal pit. The Army is no different and no part of society exists out there that’s not inflated and rudderless. Soon they’ll have the Army on parade via Zoom.
Numerous years ago soldiers worked 24/7 with very little sleep and when they did get time off most of it was spent sleeping because they were so exhausted, and as they rose up the promotion ladder it didn’t get any easier. Things have altered and it appears that these days soldiers are wrapped up in cotton wool.
I guess there are jobs out there that can be done from home, and I’m assuming that if they can work from home they’re likely to put in the additional hours and don’t even think about quitting. They can be closer to their families and spend more time with them. However, when making a phone call to a person who’s working from home, I can frequently hear a dog yapping in the background and children shouting, which is extremely offputting when I’m trying to explain myself.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 