Office workers returned to the workplace last month in greater numbers than since spring 2021, according to data from Remit Consulting.
Remit’s ‘Return Report’, which is based on data provided by building managers from office buildings in major cities around the UK, found that in January, despite the year getting off to a slow start, occupancy numbers bounced back strongly in the second, third and fourth weeks of the month, with the week ending Friday the 27th recording a national average of office occupancy of 34.3% – the highest figure since the start of the survey in May 2021.
The survey found higher office attendance from Tuesday to Thursday, with occupancy over those three days now regularly around the 40% mark.
Lorna Landells, of Remit Consulting, said: “Despite rail strikes, occupancy levels in January 2023 were stronger by a sizeable margin than 12 months previously, when the country was dealing with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.”
Remit’s numbers show the weekly average occupancy rate in London’s West End hit 43.9% at the end of January with the Docklands submarket hitting 49.4%.
“This is a dramatic improvement for an area of London which has previously held a position behind the West End,” added Landells. “Perhaps the preponderance of banking institutions has begun to play its part.”
The company added that research from the BCO suggested the pre-pandemic average office occupancy rate was around the 60% mark, with other organisations suggesting a figure of between 70-80% at peak times.
