If you asked business leaders at the beginning of March if they thought allowing staff to work from home was an efficient way to run a company, I bet the overwhelming majority would have said no. Some, no doubt, would agree that the greater flexibility this offered employees was a benefit. It also has the added bonus of eliminating the need for the dreaded daily commute to the office.

Unfortunately, this view was not shared by most company bosses. They prefer the attitude of the 18th century “father of economics,” Adam Smith, who believed an employee should be paid for a certain amount of hours each day and that they should be physically present in the factory or office so they can be supervised and their performance measured and controlled.