Returning to office after pandemic lockdowns By 2022, Britain’s businesses will see integrated working and workers move to desks in the suburbs, data from workplace provider IWG shows.
The average number of visits to the IWG’s more than 300 workplaces rose by 54% between January and November, as more workers split their time between home and the office.
Since June, footfall at the company’s flexible workspaces has increased by 25% as office-based workers gather more frequently during the work week.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays remained the most popular weekdays for employees to work from the office, IWG found, and visits on those two days doubled from January to November. Employees are more likely to finish their work week at home and not be in the office on Fridays.
The cost of living has led workers to choose to work closer to home than office buildings to save on commuting costs, the IWG found.
Suburban locations are among the company’s fastest-growing locations, and demand for workplaces away from busy city centers will increase by more than a third (36%) by 2022, he said.
Bolton and Cardiff (both up 190%), Hemel Hempstead (140%) and Chelmsford (112%) were among the areas with the biggest increase in foot falls, according to the IWG. Smaller towns and cities in the south east of England did well, including Guildford, High Wycombe and Slough.
Most UK businesses have introduced some degree of coordinated working since the outbreak, and official figures from earlier this year showed that most workers want to continue splitting their time between home and the office after the pandemic.
Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO of IWG, said: “Business leaders are convinced that hybridization offers a significantly reduced cost base and the ability to attract and retain the best talent.
Dixon predicts that it will accelerate even more by 2023. Dixon says hybrid working “allows colleagues to physically collaborate to drive innovation and new ideas.”
The IWG said it plans to add 1,000 new locations worldwide in the coming year, most of which will be in rural and suburban areas. In the UK, it has recently opened co-working centers in towns with between 10,000 and 30,000 inhabitants in Chippenham in Wiltshire, Redhill in Surrey and Evesham in Worcestershire.
