Meal deals boost as some return to office working

Among the manufacturers reporting increases was coconut water maker Vita Coco, which said that last week it had a 20% increase in sales purchased as part of a meal deal.

The firm put the increase down to workers slowly returning to the office as the lockdown eases further.

How many staff will return to the office, and for what portion of their working week, remains to be seen, said the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).

A spokeswoman said that the institute’s view remained that hybrid working, some days at home and some days in the office, seemed to likely to be a common pattern in the immediate future.

Earlier in the year, a CIPD employer survey found that 40% of employers expect more than half their workforce to work at least one day a week from home post-pandemic.

But the report on the survey noted that “a further 36% said they couldn’t do their job from home, so it’s important that other forms of flexible working are considered in addition to homeworking”.