The winter could see a stampede of people returning to the office as the cost of living crisis makes working from home increasingly expensive. 

The international energy crisis is expected to continue well into 2023 and means the cost of heating a home will increase hugely. 

It all means that people who you might not have seen at work since March 2020 might suddenly appear again in a dramatic turn of events. 

“A few months ago people weren’t going to go back because of gas prices and the travel to work and all these other costs like coffee and sandwiches outside their office being more expensive than they used to be,” Peter Cosgrove, managing director of Futurewise told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“And now it’s the other way.

“So I do think it’s an issue for people who are really struggling with the cost of inflation.” 

However, even if working from the office becomes slightly more popular it is unlikely that things will go back to the way they were before the pandemic. 

Moreover, Mr Cosgrave thinks that there are “long-term benefits to working in the office.” 

“After two years of working from home, it isn’t the end of the world to go back to the office,” he opined.  

“All the on the job learning, learning by observation was really key. All the events that people went to - even if we thought that lots of those horrible networking events - they were actually very valuable to build your network. 

“No one is going to them in the evening if they’ve been stuck at home all day.

“And even things like connections with your colleagues and a lack of loneliness - there’s huge benefits to going into the office.”

Main image: An office.