Iceland boss calls for Brits to shop out to help out

White collar workers need to get back to the office and support the UK's public transport network and town centres.

That's the view of Iceland MD Richard Walker.

In a Mail on Sunday article, he observes: "If a steelworks or aerospace factory closes, it is front page news. Yet thousands of retail job losses are already being announced every day right now, and it has scarcely created a ripple."

"So the next time you’re distracted from working at your laptop at home by the thought of ordering something from Amazon, maybe pause and think how empty life will seem if there is no longer a functioning town centre where you can go out to meet friends, browse, eat, drink and chat," he adds.

"Then consider getting back into the office at least some of the time, using the public transport network that will cease to exist without you, and supporting the local coffee bar or bakery. It’s down to all of us to shape the sort of society we want to live in, and all our actions count. Maybe ‘shop out to help out’ could become our next national slogan?"

In the article, Walker also calls for the government to show leadership and provide clarity, including a publicity campaign persuading workers to return. Iceland, he notes, has "functioned very effectively with just a skeleton staff manning our head office and the rest of our central teams working remotely".

But face-to-face contact drives engagement and sparks fresh thinking. It can’t be matched through Zoom calls, Walker argues. The retailer is, therefore, now encouraging colleagues to come into the office more frequently, while taking all necessary steps to ensure their safety.

"Everyone needs to look at the balance between office and home working to ensure we have both business efficiency and personal happiness," Walker comments. "I agree there is a happy medium to be struck, but simply staying at home full time will gravely harm our economy and our society."