While the pandemic was tough for everyone in more than one way, it was a complete shift for working professionals around the world, who had to adapt to the ‘work from home’ mode, amid a raging virus. What was earlier a rare arrangement allowed only under certain circumstances became the new normal.
Millions of employees across the globe entered a new era of remote working during the pandemic, paving the way for a dramatic change in the working patterns of a large part of the world’s population. With offices shut, people started working from their bedrooms and kitchens, while an adventurous few even moved to mountains and beaches, while continuing to work. Initially, poor internet connectivity and the general hustle in the house came up as issues. But as time passed, people got comfortable with the work from home setup.
However, this wasn’t a viable option for certain industries, including the hospitality sector that suffered huge losses in the devastating waves of the Coronavirus. The work from home culture particularly caused a major dip, as the number of customers dropped even after restaurants and pubs opened up later. Keeping that in mind, pubs in the UK have now come up with an innovative idea to get their customers back to the bar – ‘work from pub’ (WFP). Yes, it is as great as it sounds! Many pubs across Britain are offering package deals inclusive of wi-fi, charging spot, food, and drinks for the WFP setup.
According to a report published in The Guardian, 380 pubs in the Fuller’s chain are offering the WFP deals $11 onwards (₹905) a day, including lunch and a drink, while Young's has 185 pubs signed up to its $17-a-day deal. It will include a sandwich lunch and bottomless tea and coffee. Several other pubs are offering lucrative deals that include power sockets, quiet stations, unlimited tea and coffee, and lunch, besides a pint or G&T sundowner at 5 pm. Well, that is quite a great deal!
“The pub is great for its laidback atmosphere, and the best bit is that you get to bond with other pub workers over a beer at the end of the day,” Luke McMillan, a WFP customer, told The Guardian. Another WFP customer said, "For 10 quid (slang for the British pound sterling, or the British pound (GBP) you get a bacon sandwich, a table with a plug for the day and free unlimited tea and coffee.” If you are wondering if one gets to have the same concentration for work at a pub, he asserts that it's simpler to concentrate there because there aren't any distractions like "gardening, the fridge, and the cats". Many British professionals feel this is a great response to the crisis of rising expenses of living for office workers, including electricity bills at home.
