Insights

Back to work – literally

With the first full week back to work now under most people’s belts and the second about to begin,
even more staff have been called into the workplace from the comfort of their homes.

Whilst there is no doubt that hybrid working is here to stay, fully remote working is fast declining
with some employers even insisting that their employees return to the office full time.

Amazon is among the big employers demanding workers are at their desks five days a week with the
likes of BT now following suit telling staff they need to be in work three days a week although two
can be worked ‘wherever’.

Meanwhile, accountancy consultancy PwC told its 26,000 UK employees they needed to be in the
office three days a week and their whereabouts tracked to ensure compliance from January.
Likewise, Asda has mandated that every ‘home office colleague’ attend in-person three days a week
from the start of this year.

Latest statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that whilst hybrid working has
become the norm for many, the numbers of fully remote workers have declined massively since the
days of the pandemic when most of us were unable to leave our homes.

The ONS ‘opinions and lifestyle’ study found that 28% of working adults followed a hybrid model in
autumn last year. It found that hybrid working was more common among those aged 30+ and those
in professional and managerial positions. They were also more likely to be higher qualified and less
likely to be client-facing.

Workplace transformation consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates latest global ‘hybrid working
index’ found of 68,000 employees in 19 countries, average attendance in offices is 34% although
desk use is much higher at 55%.

There is a strong argument that forcing people back to the office could backfire since hybrid working
has come to be seen more as a right than a perk and with employers competing for high calibre staff,
offering hybrid working could prove a major attraction and in-office working mandatory, a turn-off.

According to international recruiters Randstad, hybrid working is non-negotiable for 54% of British
workers.

Employees may not be wholly on board with back-to-the-office demands of their bosses but the
commercial property sector could benefit as a result.

The trend was very much apparent last year and, given these latest announcements, will gather pace
this year. As such, Bonsors expects prime office space to continue to be in demand with rents likely
to rise this year although secondary sites – those offices which are dated and lack facilities – will
struggle to attract tenants. Bonsors also expects to see more novel uses of office space as all manner
of organisations look at ways to expand their facilities. Last year, Bonsors oversaw the letting of an
office on London Road in Kingston upon Thames to Kingston Grammar School when it needed new
premises to accommodate its sixth from.

Bonsors director Andrew Pollard said: “We are seeing more of this type of transaction where offices
are bought or let by organisations which are thinking outside of the box in terms of how they
approach finding the space they need.”