A week of train and tube strikes is likely to set back workers’ return to the office just as it was picking up pace – even on Fridays.
New figures suggest that occupancy last week was at its highest since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Remit Consulting, which uses building managers’ reports to track occupancy weekly, found average office occupancy for the week ending 17 June stood at 30.6%.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all achieved occupancy of more than 35%, while Friday reached 20% for the first time since Remit started the survey more than a year ago. In London, the average office occupancy rate reached 40% from Tuesday to Thursday, and in the West End it exceeded 50% on the busiest days.
“While occupancy rates have been affected by recent events, including the extended Jubilee celebrations and half-term school holidays, the underlying data reveals that, nationally, average office occupancy has been hovering at around 26-28% for several weeks and the most recent data is a continuation of this trend, though tentatively encouraging,” said Remit’s Lorna Landells.
Landells added: “Clearly, this week’s planned tube and rail strikes will do nothing to boost numbers in the office, though.”
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