London workers are coming back to the office. Not necessarily every day, and not even the same office, but they are certainly coming back. In May it was reported by TFL that the highest number (almost 3 million) of tube journeys were made since the pandemic began, and Remit Consulting shared that employee occupancy in London offices reached the highest level in two years during mid-May. These trends mirror the increasing demand for occupancy and visits to our 50+ buildings in the capital, and indicate the demand for inspiring and convenient workspace options.
The conversation has moved past whether employees will return to the office, and is now centred around questions such as where, how often, who with and what for. Given the new levels of flexibility employees discovered during the pandemic and the subsequent shifts to business leaders’ workplace strategies, it’s clear that old ways of working are no longer fit for purpose. With the option of either working from home, HQ offices and third places, such as flexible workspaces and coworking spots, means employees are making more intentional decisions on the location and type of workspace they need for particular days or work projects.
In a survey of over 2000 London workers for a King’s College report, the results showed an overwhelming support for hybrid working, and this shift has led to the purpose of the office taking on a new role. As employees return, it is relied upon as a place for in-person collaboration with teams, and spontaneous social interactions, as well as productive heads-down work — all depending on what an employee wants to achieve from their time spent in the office. For many young workers starting out in their careers, a professional working environment with access to both amenities and in-person support and guidance, is integral to their learning and development. Ensuring a careful balance in a hybrid workplace strategy will help to recruit and retain the best talent at all levels.
Harnessing the value of the office relies on implementing a workplace strategy tailored to the needs of its workforce, and the support to implement it and capture real-time insights to make any necessary adjustments. This might involve configuring a workspace to enable employees to work however suits them best — for example, the implementation of collaboration spaces, quiet zones, classrooms, communal areas and tech-enabled meeting rooms to integrate remote workers. Having an effective tool to track the utilisation data is key.
Organisations also need ways to determine which of their teams are working from specific offices on particular days and require the ability to book desks, workspaces and meeting rooms as they need them. In a conducted with Economist Impact, WeWork found that business leaders’ main concern is adapting to new technologies necessary for the hybrid model, whether across one HQ office or a portfolio of satellite offices across multiple cities and countries. We continue to hear this from companies, inside the WeWork member network and beyond.
Spurred on by these trends, we set out to develop a product that would streamline the desk booking process, seamlessly coordinate workspace usage and leverage insights from the data, all maximising the value of workspace in the process. This year we’re set to launch a universal software solution — WeWork Workplace — and we’re excited for the benefits it can give businesses in London and around the world.
As we see the capital continue to get busier, this has a positive impact on local economies, as well as hopefully the growth of emerging businesses too. Getting workers back to the office was just one part of the puzzle though. Now, as employees embrace the benefits of hybrid working, the focus should now shift to empowering them to optimise the ways they work and equipping business leaders with the tools to maximise the value of their real estate assets. Successfully navigating this new era of hybrid work will depend on it.