Nigel Farage has called for an end to working from home, claiming the culture is getting in the way of what he describes as “hard work” and productivity.

Speaking at a Reform UK rally in Birmingham, the party leader dismissed the idea that employees are more productive at home, arguing instead that people work better when they are physically together.

He told supporters that workers are “more productive being with other fellow human beings” and said Britain needs a major shift in attitude. Farage added that the country should move away from prioritising work life balance and return to what he described as a stronger focus on hard work.

“You can’t go on the sick because you’ve got mild anxiety,” he said, before calling for what he described as an “attitudinal change” towards working from home. “People aren’t more productive working at home. It’s a load of nonsense. They’re more productive being with other fellow human beings and working as part of a team.”

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His comments come despite official figures showing a major shift in how the UK works since the pandemic. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people working from home doubled between late 2019 and early 2022, rising from 4.7 million to 9.9 million.

Data from the start of 2025 shows that 28 per cent of the UK workforce now works in a hybrid model, 13 per cent work fully remotely, and 44 per cent travel into work full time.

Polling has consistently shown strong public support for hybrid and remote working across both the public and private sectors, with many employees saying it improves productivity, work life balance and staff retention.

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