Office workers in Central London are spending more time in the workplace than they were 12 months ago, according to a new survey conducted by Centre for Cities, Savanta and Focaldata.
The survey found that on average full-time Central London workers spent more than half of the working week – 2.7 days – in the office in June 2024, an increase on the 2.2 days recorded in April 2023.
However, the ‘Return to the office: How London compares to other global cities, and why this matters’ study, which surveyed employers and employees in six cities on four continents for the report, found London lags behind Paris (3.5 days per week), Singapore (3.2 days), New York (3.1) and Sydney (2.8).
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 (4.0), Singapore (3.6), New York (3.4), Toronto (3.3) and Paris (3.2).
More of London’s employers have introduced office mandates in the last year and just 7% 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.
Some 95% of employees surveyed in all cities said there were benefits to having more face time with colleagues and just 9% of survey respondents said they would look for another job if their office mandate was increased. In London, 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.
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “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.”
Chris Hayward, policy chairman and political leader of the City of London Corporation, added: “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.”
