Office attendance continues to grow, Regus owner IWG says

The pandemic kicked off a boom in home working, which has morphed into a hybrid working pattern as lockdowns lifted.

Many former commuters are choosing to work in offices closer to their homes. (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Office attendance is up by a third compared to January, new data from workplace provider IWG shows.

The group also said its data contained evidence that having a branch of Pret a Manger nearby might boost attendance at work.

The group said that there had been major hikes in visits to its office and co-working spaces in regional towns and cities with Pret branches in the area.

Overall, office attendance across all its sites is up 33% since January when the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was still a major concern, the IWG data shows.

But office companies and those who cater to them have moved further out of major city centres in recent years.

The pandemic kicked off a boom in home working, which has morphed into a hybrid working pattern as lockdowns lifted.

IWG has opened more and more rural and suburban offices over recent months, and said that those locations that were already open have become more popular.

Meanwhile, Pret recently revealed that it had returned to profitability, thanks in large part to its regional sites.

IWG chief executive Mark Dixon said: “The shift to more flexible ways of working in the heart of local communities is happening fast and is irreversible.

“The data shows that more workers are choosing to base themselves in offices closer to home, and that the era of long daily commutes is well and truly over.”

“Gone are the days of having to choose between working locally and having your favourite sandwich for lunch, which only strengthens the allure of working in the heart of your local community.”