Employees are heading again to workplaces throughout the UK in droves, pushing workplace occupancy to the very best since earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic, as an skilled described the numbers as “not in freefall nor in restoration mode however settling”.
Funding banks comparable to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chasehave led the push with strict return-to-office mandates regardless of anger amongst many staff about being ordered again to the workplace 5 days every week. Corporations in different sectors have additionally elevated days within the workplace however many companies, together with legislation and accounting corporations, nonetheless enable employees to work remotely two days every week.
Common workplace attendance within the UK has been above 40% each week since early January, reaching 44.2% within the week to 13 February, based on Remit Consulting’s ReTurn report. That was the very best because the Covid outbreak in March 2020, which led to the primary nationwide lockdown. Attendance dipped to 42.2% within the week to twenty February due to the half-term vacation, and rose to 44.1% the week after.
Workplace occupancy assorted between the 9 cities tracked by the consultancy, hitting 69.2% in Bristol within the week to 27 February, 64.6% in Leeds, 63.8% in Cardiff, 53.7% in Edinburgh, 50.7% in Manchester, 42.3% in Birmingham, 41.5% in London, 39.3% in Newcastle upon Tyne and 31.6% in Glasgow.
Lorna Landells, a accomplice at Remit and a co-author of the report, stated: “Workplace attendance is not in freefall nor in restoration mode; it’s settling. Workers are extra open to being within the workplace, however solely the place it feels purposeful and workable. Flexibility is not a perk; it’s the baseline.”
She stated the outcomes of the research confirmed a shift in focus for occupiers, buyers and builders. “The query is not whether or not folks will return to the workplace however what sort of workplace expertise genuinely helps the way in which folks now work. As expectations stabilise, the standard, performance and readability of office design are set to play an more and more decisive position in driving attendance,” Landells added.
Nevertheless, there may be sizeable resistance to full-time workplace working. Greater than 2,000 of JPMorgan Chase’s 300,000-plus staff worldwide have signed a petition within the yr because the financial institution’s chief government, Jamie Dimon, issued a five-day workplace working edict in early 2025.
The petition described the mandate as a “nice leap backward” that harm staff, clients, shareholders and the corporate’s fame.
It stated: “It worsens site visitors and air pollution whereas disproportionately pushing out ladies, caregivers, senior staff, and people with disabilities. Many of those are prime performers, and lots of of them solely in a position to be a part of the workforce underneath hybrid-work guidelines.”
The petition added that this instantly contradicted the financial institution’s commitments to variety, fairness and inclusion.
One employees member stated: “My crew is unfold out via two continents and three time zones. JPMC is a world firm – why can’t that embrace my dwelling workplace?”
One other stated: “Hybrid is working and staff love the joyful medium.”
Common workplace occupancy in Birmingham and Newcastle had been constantly above 40% in latest weeks, whereas in Leeds and Cardiff it was even increased, above 60%, Remit information reveals. In Bristol, it went as excessive as 75.4% the ultimate week of January.
The speed in Glasgow had been edging in direction of 30%, and exceeded that within the newest week after a number of years of decrease workplace attendance.
It has a excessive proportion of presidency and different public-sector staff. Throughout the Covid lockdowns, Glasgow had extra restrictions in contrast with different components of Scotland, and there was a slower sustained return to the workplace than different places.
The numbers examine with nationwide workplace occupancy ranges of 60% to 80% earlier than the Covid pandemic, when workplaces have been by no means full due to illness, holidays, exterior conferences or different operational points.
A rising variety of corporations are committing to giant workplace buildings for the long run. In line with the business property group CoStar, there have been 14 new workplace lettings for greater than 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq metres) final yr – the joint highest since 2017 and twice as many as in 2024. JP Morgan and HSBC every took about 200,000 sq ft after realising that they had downsized an excessive amount of within the aftermath of the pandemic.
The property firm Knight Frank has stated: “Whereas a transfer again towards office-first hybrid-working patterns is the norm, occupiers are planning for peak occupancy days and accepting some off-peak inefficiency as the worth of getting groups collectively when it issues. A small variety of corporations are taking a extra focused method to lowering waste, for instance, by closing sure flooring on Fridays.”
