Less than one in ten companies order staff back to the office full-time

There have also been various return-to-work protests in the private sector. One of the world’s most famous artificial intelligence researchers left Apple this week due to technology giant demands that staff return to headquarters in Silicon Valley for three days a week.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said video calls could not replace the experience of working together.

“Despite everything we have been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that something essential has been missing over the past year: each other,” he said in a message to staff last year.

However, many technology giants have lent work remotely as a way to attract talent from competitors. Last month, Airbnb told employees they would be able to work remotely and would not cut wages if they moved to cheaper parts of the world.