Thousands of workers return to offices following restrictions easing
Thousands of workers have returned to offices in towns and cities across the UK following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Visits to UK city centres are up 58 per cent since January, according to new data from IWG, which operates office and flexible working space.
The number of employees visiting an IWG space increased by more than 11 per cent month-on-month from January until April, and a further 15 per cent from April to May.
IWG spaces in Manchester saw the biggest influx of workers, up 38 per cent from April to May.
IWG founder and CEO Mark Dixon said: “We are seeing in real time more and more people returning to our spaces, not only in the UK, but across the more than a hundred countries in which we operate.
“Our latest data shows that there is strong appetite to spend part of the time in an office environment, be that a local office or a central HQ.
“The growing popularity of hybrid working amongst employees and businesses means workers now have the freedom and flexibility to choose a location to work from which suits their lifestyle.”
Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest City firm to offer hybrid working, the Telegraph first reported.
The bank told staff that from October they can either work at home, in the office or a mix of both depending on their role.
It is thought more people could return to the office later this month if coronavirus restrictions are further eased on June 21 and guidance to work from home is scrapped.
However, the government is reportedly revising its roadmap out of lockdown, with many medical experts now arguing more people need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to offer greater certainty against another lockdown.
Morning Wire first revealed the government was minded to take a “gentle” approach to getting people back to the office this summer, unlike last year’s hardline approach that saw Number 10 brief media outlets that workers could be sacked if they continued to work from home.