Boris Johnson tried to lean on Bridget Jones to make a point about working from home – but ended up with egg on his face after social media users pointed out he’d got the plot completely wrong.
The former prime minister used his high-paying Daily Mail column to give his two penneth about the ongoing WFH debate after chancellor Rachel Reeves urged workers to head back to the office.
The Chancellor said that staff benefited from “coming together” in an office to work “collaboratively” as she put herself at odds with one of her Cabinet colleagues.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds recently criticised a “culture of presenteeism” in Britain’s workplaces as he insisted a default right of flexible working will boost productivity.
He also hit out at Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, one of his Tory predecessors, for the “bizarre” approach of “declaring war on people working from home”.
This included conducting personal headcounts of officials in some departments and also leaving “sorry you were out when I visited” notes for staff not at their desks.
Johnson also appears to be on the side of office-based working, using his Daily Mail column to urge young workers to ditch flexible working habits.
But he was quickly taken down to size on social media after making a Bridget Jones reference and getting the film’s plot completely wrong.
The ex-PM said the “Bridget Joneses of today” will “never meet their Mr Darcy” if they continue to embrace WFH.
But he overlooked the fact that Bridget Jones did not meet Mark Darcy at work, instead meeting him at a party.
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