Workplace Attendance

Q13 directly relates to Q6 ('Productivity'). The perception, according to some workplace / corporate real estate commentators, is that there are employers who want everyone back in the workplace 5 days a week (often related to perceptions of reduced productivity, sometimes a barely-disguised 'we’ve a building to fill'). The truth is that people on average were never in the workplace 5 days a week prior to the pandemic, according to utilisation studies conducted by SPACE and others.

The overwhelming majority of respondents have not seen a negative impact from this increased flexibility in when people attend the workplace. This would suggest that while a steady state has not been reached, current attendance levels are not a barrier to organisational effectiveness.

Apart from training (referenced by several in the ‘other’ option), the list of options provided in the survey covers the main reasons why people attend the workplace.

It has long been assumed that focus work would take place at home. This assumes the home environment is appropriate. That is not always the case and the reliance on Teams calls reflects the need for quiet spaces in workplaces.

The two highest scores are for group activities, and this is where the workplace will always be better than the home—with the caveat that such spaces have to really support such communal activities.

The prominence of personal preference and better work environment

possibly the fact that separation of work and home life was impossible during lockdown. Now restrictions have eased, some are recreating this distinction.