The Advantage Travel Partnership would lose most of its staff if the company changed policy and insisted they all came into the office, its Chief of People has claimed.

Xian Mayes said the company, which is now a fully remote business, ‘would lose two-thirds of our workforce overnight if we told them they all had to come into an office’.

She told a debate on the pros and cons of working from home: “We make sure we don’t let the culture slip and work hard on our tech and events such as hosting regular coffee mornings with Julia (Lo Bue-Said, CEO). We treat people as adults. The minute they don’t act that way, we deal with it, but it is a rarity.

“For me saying everyone needs to be in two days a week wouldn’t work either – you are never going to get to be in together. It’s never going to return to that.”

The debate formed part of the first ABC Live! HR Insights event on Tuesday, hosted by C&M Travel Recruitment, Travlaw and Global Travel and Tourism Partnership.

USAirtours Founder and CEO Guy Novik said staff are also 99% remote, and employees need to understand the work from home nature.

He said: “Anyone who joins us who thinks it will be easier will be in for a surprise. We measure everything. With working from home, you start fresh, have a great work/life balance – it’s not about ‘shirking’ from home.”

However, Resort Marketing International Managing Director Colin Pegler said there are issues with working remotely: “We do business face-to-face not on Teams and we need people there to spark their ideas and learn.

“The reality is how is a 21-year-old supposed to learn if they are sitting in their bedroom? How can you really onboard them if they are at home?”

Colin also warned there is a risk that people working from home are more likely to be lonely and suffer with wellbeing issues.

“Homeworking staff need to consider these things – as an employer you have a duty of care for staff.”

Guy agreed: “It is absolutely more challenging – you have to be checking in and focusing on the wellbeing of staff.”

Xian added Advantage has six mental health first aiders to check in with employees and staff are actively encouraged to work from anywhere.

RealiseHR Consultant Jude Harvey added that the culture is changing when it comes to youngsters coming into work.

She said: “It’s interesting that when a younger person is coming in for an interview, they are coming in to interview you now  – many are applying for around 45 jobs, but selecting just three to interview with. By not giving people choice (to work for home) you are narrowing down the people you employ.”

Talking about the possibility of working a four-day week, the panel largely agreed it wouldn’t work for their businesses, despite travel companies such as Kuoni recently announcing it was considering it.

Colin said: “It’s simple, if you want to work a four-day week, that’s part time and you earn 20% less. Work doesn’t go away and then you risk burnout if people work longer days. If you are dealing with customers you can’t say to them ‘don’t call us tomorrow we are not here’. For small organisations a four-day week really isn’t feasible.”

Xian agreed: “Personally I love it, but professionally and logistically it would be a nightmare.”