KATY GORDON: This is what's REALLY killing Perth city centre – and it's not working from home

Can we please stop making people working from home the scapegoats for what is wrong with our high streets and city centres? As usual, the truth is far more complicated than some folk would like you to believe. Pre-Covid, I was an office worker. On very rare occasions, usually when I was working on big projects, I would work at home for a day so I could fully focus on a job without distractions. But four days a week I commuted to Courier HQ in Dundee, which was a drive of around 45 minutes each way, and I racked up the costs of fuel and parking and all those normal things. Occasionally I did pick up a takeaway sandwich or something yummy for my lunch, but most of the time I brought something from home. And sometimes on my break I would nip to a shop to get a present for a loved one. So yes, I did spend money in the city centre when I worked in an office. I won't try and deny that. However, since 2022, I think I've been to the office less than a handful of times because I am now a home worker. If I was told I needed to work 'on site' again, I'm not sure I could afford it. I certainly wouldn't be wandering around the Overgate on my lunch hour or buying food on a regular basis. Because if we look at what has happened in the world since that life-changing pandemic, it's not easy viewing. According to a House of Commons research briefing document, in July of this year, 56% of adults in Great Britain saw an increase in their costs of living compared with previous month. The three main causes reported were increases in the price of food shopping, fuel prices and energy bills. Those are three essential components of daily life. And one of those is counteracted by home working – less travel means less spent on fuel for vehicles. If we take the rise in the cost of food shopping and higher energy bills into account, that probably affects hospitality businesses too, forcing them to increase prices to keep their balance sheet clear. So that sandwich I would get for £3 in 2019 will probably be more expensive now (I don't blame bosses for putting their prices up; I understand why they have to, but doing that could force consumers to forgo a takeaway lunch in a bid to save some cash). Retail businesses are also facing the increase in their energy costs and many chains that adopted an online focus during Covid have continued that strategy, so often online shopping is people's first port of call. Yes, it may not make all purchases cheaper, but it can certainly be more convenient. The same Commons report found that between 2022 and 2024 real incomes fell due to higher inflation. While they did increase slightly after that, there's the knock-on effect of that drop, when many households were forced to cut corners and use savings and credit to meet the shortfall and are now paying that back and building up their reserves again. And the main point is, the Covid lockdowns proved that remote working works. Staff have adapted their homes to accommodate a desk and computer, it feels like Teams is on every single device now and many people are reporting a better work-life balance. If home working had a negative impact on businesses, it wouldn't still happen. For me, I am far more productive working at home. I love blasting music while I carry out my tasks, something I wouldn't be able to do in an office without wearing headphones that basically block out any of the benefits of working alongside my colleagues. I also take the screen breaks needed for my eyes and my back – something I rarely did in the office. And I've chopped an hour and a half of travelling out of my day so I have more time either side of work to do my household jobs and socialise. The big thing for me is that businesses need to adapt more to suit the changed habits of customers. Again, looking back at Covid, restaurants who never did takeaways started that service when diners couldn't eat in. That's just one example of how changes can work. But putting pressure on councils and businesses to force their staff back into the office is only going to create issues for people already struggling to exist in a cost-of-living crisis that feels never-ending. This is an issue that needs to be addressed thoroughly without choosing one group to blame.