Office occupancy in the UK hit its highest monthly level since the COVID-19 pandemic in February as the return by workers continues.
According to the latest research published by Remit Consulting, the national daily average throughout the month, which included periods of industrial action and school half-term holidays, was of 33.2%.
Remit Consulting’s data for February reveals that occupancy for the week ending 3 February, which saw two days of industrial action on the railways, had only a slight decline to 31.1%, compared to the previous week.
Occupancy rates bounced back the following week (ending 10 February) to record a survey high of 35.3%, before easing back slightly to 31.9% when much of the country was on half-term in the week ending 17 February. During the final week of the month, average office occupancy levels in the UK bounced back to 34.6%.
The management consultant’s research confirmed that, as is now usual, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays remain the busiest days, with a monthly national average of over 38.5% occupancy for these three days.
Lorna Landells of Remit Consulting said that in a month that saw days of national rail strikes and industrial action taken by teachers and nurses, office occupancy rates in the UK remained robust, "which included the highest weekly average yet seen during the pandemic".
But Landells said it is disappointing to see that productivity growth continues to lag pre-pandemic levels, with the final quarter 2022 data from the Office for National Statistics showing only a 1.9% increase in output per hour worked compared with 2019. It also seems the public sector has struggled with productivity, which is still some 7.4% lower than before the pandemic.
“Additionally, recent reports that the majority of UK organisations that participated in a four-day working week trial are continuing with it have implications for occupational working patterns, the demand for office space and, ultimately, those that invest in the sector,” she added.
In London, the West End and Docklands submarkets recorded some of the strongest daily averages of the pandemic in February, with the daily average office occupancy rate for the capital over the month reaching 30.2%.
There are diverse views in the property sector regarding what constitutes maximum occupancy for offices, with some industry commentators suggesting that, due to holidays, external meetings, staff sickness and other operational issues, offices were only ever 60-80% "full" before the pandemic.
The Return Report is being compiled by Remit Consulting weekly and is based on data provided by building managers from office buildings in major cities around the UK, many in central and prime locations. The data is obtained from the buildings’ access control systems, providing an overview of the number of staff and visitors entering a property on weekdays. This is presented as a percentage of the capacity of each building.