Bedford mayor 'bitterly regrets' sofa jab about council home workers
Bedford’s mayor has said he “bitterly regrets” comments made on social media about staff working from home, as a councillor raised concerns over the council’s approach to hybrid working.
Councillor Doug McMurdo (Independent, Sharnbrook) asked mayor Tom Wootton at last night’s Executive Meeting (Wednesday, July 9) whether he had “executed” the June 10 announcement that council staff were to return to the office three days a week.
In response, mayor Wootton said the shift was not a strict instruction, but part of a long-standing policy encouraging staff to come in more regularly.
“This is not being done as a rule of ‘you must return,’” he said. “That is being done department by department, head of service by head of service… it is something we’re encouraging.”
He added: “I bitterly regret making the comment about sofas.”
In his Facebook post on mayor Wootton said: “Good services rely on great teamwork. Collaboration, visibility, and a strong workplace culture matter. You do not build that on Teams calls from the sofa.”
“I bitterly regret the inference… We have some wonderful officers, we have some wonderful workers.”
“I just think this policy of coming back to the office three days a week is a really good one, and it’s one that lots of private industry have benefited from.
“It’s not one that is ‘thou must’, it is something we’re encouraging,” he said.
Councillor McMurdo responded: “Some advice I’d give you is to be careful what you put on social media.
“I consider that council staff being told to return to the office three days a week is a message that should come from the head of paid service, and not the directly elected mayor.
“I just urge you to consider these situations because that has disenchanted a lot of employees that are residents within our borough.
“I know that for a fact.”