Workers in central London spend more than half of the week in the office
Centre for Cities, with Savanta and Focaldata, surveyed employers and employees in six cities on four continents for its new report.
Centre for Cities, with Savanta and Focaldata, surveyed employers and employees in six cities on four continents for its new report.
Central London continues to make progress on return to the office, according to new survey data that shows the average central London full-time worker spends more than half of the working week – 2.7 days – in the office in June 2024, an increase from 2.2 days in April 2023.
There is scope for London’s return to the office to progress further in order to reach the same level as global comparators Paris (3.5 days per week), Singapore (3.2 days), New York (3.1) and Sydney (2.8).
Centre for Cities, with Savanta and Focaldata, surveyed employers and employees in six cities on four continents for its new report, ‘Return to the office: How London compares to other global cities, and why this matters’.
It reveals that, among employers with office mandates in place, the average employer in London mandates fewer days in the office – 3.1 days – than their counterparts in Sydney on 4.0, Singapore on 3.6, and New York, Toronto and Paris on 3.4, 3.3 and 3.2 respectively.
More of London’s employers have introduced office mandates in the last year, and just seven per cent of London’s office workers were not mandated to be in the office at all in June 2024, down from a quarter in April 2023.
Survey data suggests employees would accept more office time being mandated. Most – 95 per cent, both in London and across all cities – say there are benefits to more facetime with colleagues, and just 9 per cent would say they would look for another job if their office mandate were increased.
In London, the youngest workers (aged 18-24) spend the most time working in the office on average each week – bucking the trend observed in the other cities surveyed – and they are the most likely out of all age groups to say they work best in the office (43 per cent).
“There’s no substitute for the benefits gained thanks to face-to-face interaction, particularly for younger workers. Having access to the wide variety of activities and experiences that offices in city centres offer is crucial for them, and the businesses they work for, to be successful.
“London has huge assets – world-class public transport, deep labour markets and lots of cutting-edge firms. Encouraging more people back to the office, to be in line with other global cities, will enable the capital to continue to play the important national and international roles in the future.”
“This is an insightful report from the Centre for Cities, and we are ready to support local businesses and central government bring workers back to the office. The continued year-on-year rise in office attendance shows that our Destination City programme, the City Corporation’s growth strategy, for the Square Mile, is having real impact
“Attracting new businesses and people to a dynamic and thriving City is vital for the Square Mile’s future and we are excited to work with partners across London to do so.”
