Working hard, or hardly working?

How have you managed the post-lockdown transition and fully returned to office working yet? As chartered surveyors our inspections have to take place outside of course, but I’m pleased to say we at least appear to be working ‘back to normal’ now, writes Clive Scrivener, Founder Partner, of Wimbledon based chartered surveyors Scrivener Tibbatts.

However that doesn’t appear to be the case for many businesses. The working habits of almost 80,000 employees were recorded across June and July 2022 as part of The Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) Hybrid Working Index study. Apparently on average, British employees come into the office less than 1.5 days a week, according to a global study of almost 80 offices across 13 countries.

The study also found that on an average day, two-thirds of desks are unused and just over a quarter of people are coming into the offices, with the attendance figure dropping to just 12 per cent on Fridays.

From an employer’s perspective I think it’s important that we recognise a hybrid method of working should now be the new normal. The survey found that if companies have no hybrid working policies, people come in on average less than one day a week. However, even if organisations insist people attend the office three days a week, attendance averages just 2.1 days a week. However, where an employer trusts individual teams to make their own decisions about office attendance, the average is 2 days in the office.

Quoted here Andrew Mawson, Managing Director of AWA, commented: “What this global survey shows is that as a result of changes due to the pandemic the hybrid working genie is out of the bottle. Even where employers try to force staff into the office two or three days a week, employees don’t comply.”

If you would like to discuss something related to a property valuation please contact Clive Scrivener direct via email at Clive@scrivenertibbatts.co.uk or call 020 8971 2983.