Chief executives of UK companies are increasingly expecting a full return to office working.

Amid a renewed debate over flexible working since the Labour government was elected, 83 per cent of UK bosses have said they believe there will be a return to pre-pandemic ways of working within the next three years, up from 64 per cent a year ago, an annual survey of bosses by KPMG has found.

The research, involving 1,325 chief executives internationally, also found that 81 per cent said they would probably reward employees who came into the office — up significantly from 56 per cent in 2023.

The findings come as companies grapple with creating the optimum operating environment and with the government embarking on contentious workers’ rights reforms, which have unsettled parts of business.

In an interview with The Times this week, Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade ­secretary, said giving employees the right to work from home or ignore work emails and calls in the evening will make them more “motivated and resilient”.

“It does contribute to productivity, it does contribute to [staff] resilience, their ability to stay working for an employer,” he said. “Good employers understand that their workforce, to keep them ­motivated and resilient, they do need to judge people on outcomes and not a culture of presenteeism.”

• Jonathan Reynolds: Tories’ war on flexible working was bizarre

The same percentage of global bosses who took part in the KPMG survey also increasingly expect a full return to office working in the next three years, while a higher proportion, 87 per cent globally, are likely to reward employees who do so.

Amazon told staff this week they must return to the office five days a week from the start of next year.

In one of the most exacting clampdowns on remote working since the Covid-19 crisis forced companies to introduce changes, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, told staff in a memo that “it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming and inventing are simpler and more effective”.

In addition to staff returning to the office five days a week, Amazon said it would end hot-desking in the US, although it will continue in most of Europe.

In the wide-ranging CEO outlook survey, two-thirds of UK chief executives also said they viewed generative AI (GenAI) as a “positive disruptor”.

Almost three-quarters, 71 per cent, also said it would not fundamentally impact the number of jobs in the market, instead believing existing jobs could be redeployed and the new tech could enable “upskilling”. A further third said it would create more jobs, KPMG found.

Ahead of the government’s budget on October 30, 75 per cent of chief executives in the UK were “upbeat” about their companies’ growth prospects, a slight drop from 77 per cent last year. But business leaders also showed they were less confident in the growth of the UK’s economy compared with last year (79 per cent down from 83 per cent).

Generative AI is an opportunity, not a threat

It seems to have become an accepted fact that generative AI will replace many office jobs. But what if this isn’t the case?

We’ve all seen the reports and articles detailing the negative impact of genAI on our workforces. As a chief executive, I read these and think about the atmosphere of uncertainty they might be creating, damaging morale and demotivating people.

I am not alone in questioning that negative narrative. KPMG’s latest global CEO outlook survey of more than 1,300 chief executives shows the leaders of the world’s biggest businesses see genAI as positive for workers.

We found that 71 per cent of UK chief executives see genAI as an opportunity to try new ways of working, creating a highly skilled and productive workforce without significant job losses. A third even think it will create jobs. We found similar views across the broader population of chief executives globally.

When I look at how we have been introducing AI and genAI at KPMG UK, I can see that it is making the work we do even better.

All our audits are digital. We use AI today to support our teams and the ambition is for all our audits to always be delivered using the latest technology, including genAI, as this will lead to even better-quality audits.

As a graduate auditor I spent many, many — often frustrating — hours transferring data from a ledger. Today our auditors are saved from this grind by our AI-enabled tools, freeing them up to spend more time talking to clients and focusing on the more judgmental areas of the audit.

Of course, implementing genAI doesn’t come without challenges. When I talk to other CEOs the same thorny issues come up time and again: trust, regulation and concerns about a lack of skills. This is why it needs to be implemented with care.

For me, human intelligence combined with artificial intelligence is greater than the sum of their parts. With GenAI we have a genuine opportunity to help solve the UK’s productivity puzzle. There’s a role for the new government to make sure young people are starting out with the right skills. And there’s a role for businesses of all sizes in partnership with government, both national and local, in helping to achieve this.

The genAI story is changing every day and this is only the beginning. But the leaders who do get it right can look to a motivated workforce, empowered to do more interesting and productive work. That’s what I want for my people.

So it’s time to change the story on genAI and to see it as the great enabler of our time.

Jon Holt is chief executive and senior partner at KPMG UK