Starling boss Anne Boden enjoys working from home

The pandemic has changed work in the 21st century, and remote work is gaining momentum going into the future. Starling CEO Anne Boden, a staunch advocate of working in the office, is buying the idea of working away from the office.

Boden said "I was somebody who went into the office early in the morning and stayed all day, every day of the week. I thought that was how things should be done. And at Starling I felt I had to be there early in the morning because I was a leader. I was wrong."

"Things don't have to be done like that any longer. We can tap into more people in more regions with technology if we have a combination of hybrid working," she added.

Starling is a digital bank that aims to provide better service than the high street lenders. With a valuation of £1.1billion, Starling is one of Britain's most valuable tech start-ups. The Railways Pension Scheme took a stake, giving retirees access to the bank's growth prospects.

Despite the growing popularity of remote work, some chiefs are not buying the idea of working remotely. According to some, being absent from the office affects teamwork and creativity. Some have expressed fears that working from home has gone too far, and they now face a battle encouraging more staff to return to the workplace for even part of the week. Others have said prospective candidates for jobs bring up questions about the number of days they have to work in the office.

Boden believes working from home is very effective, and her comments suggest that Starling will be looking to adopt this approach to work or a hybrid that combines working from home and away from home.