Office attendance rates are rising across the world and hybrid working patterns born during the pandemic are becoming more structured. JLL’s workplace management chief executive Paul Morgan told Property Week that this trend is putting further pressure on companies to optimise their workspaces and fight for the best office assets.
Based on our stats, 70% of employees are now coming to the office three days-plus. The number coming in five days is on the increase as well, except in Europe. Everywhere else in the world, utilisation rates seem to be creeping back up, while Europe dropped this year from 58% to 55%.
Europe is funny as it’s got the lowest share of office attendance at three to four days a week and the highest share at one to two days. Obviously, Europe is composed of many countries so it’s difficult to generalise, but it still seems to be wrestling with where it wants to settle on mandates. There’s some indication that the UK is leading at the upper end of office attendance rates.
Read Also: Saudi Arabia a global real estate hub
The global average is 3.2 days a week, and it has grown every year since the pandemic. A lot of that movement initially was driven by a large number of organisations saying ‘we want you back in the space’ through mandates. But we’re not at pre-pandemic levels yet.
Two of the biggest inhibitors we see are, first, the commute – still. It has got to be worth my while to spend ‘X’ number of hours getting to the office. And, second, when you get there, it has got to be meaningful and purposeful.
That is why you’re seeing organisations put more effort into managing the type of work that is getting conducted in their spaces: ‘How do I need to create that crucible for people to meld together?’ At the end of the day, organisations are trying to create a sense of culture, purpose and belonging, and you’re seeing that in the way organisations are designing spaces. We’re seeing private enclosed spaces be a thing of the past, with more breakout spaces, phone booths and smaller meeting rooms to accommodate a broader range of work styles.
Read Also: PRS leaders brace for Renters’ Rights Act
Design trends and regional differences
There was this phrase that the ‘office is dead’, but actually we’re seeing offices are back and I don’t think they ever went away. And you’ve seen that in volumes coming back, as 2026 has been another strong year so far. As you know, we live in ‘VUCA’ – a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous world. But I think organisations have probably realised that this is the new norm, so you just have to make the best decisions for your company.
The UK has always been a bit of a pioneer, particularly in terms of workplace design and use. There’s more of an openness to try things, both pre- and post-Covid. But you have submarkets. In the UK, you have the beating heart of London, which is always on the front foot in terms of more innovative, more sustainable designs, and you have the transport infrastructure. Step out of London to Birmingham or Manchester and you’ve got a bit more flexibility in terms of office use. When you get to the more secondary or tertiary markets, you’re facing the commute barrier.
Fighting for space in a supply-constrained market
The first thing is understanding how much space you need as, particularly in higher-quality spaces in London, workspace is expensive. Demand is going to drive rental rates up. In a comparable market, in the west loop of Chicago, there’s not a lot of available trophy space and the cost of that space has gone up materially.
Read Also: Bloomsbury Square lawyer Emily Bradshaw on proactive harassment
No one wants to be in a class-B or class-C space as they’re dark, dingy and difficult to reconfigure, and that’s going to put a lot of pressure on the owners of those assets. The phrase ‘flight to quality’ has been around forever, but that has come into focus. That means being closer to transport hubs, more modern environments and more energy-efficient and sustainable offices.
In our recent occupancy report, firms told us one of their most important goals was improving data quality around utilisation, because we’re paying all this money for space that isn’t being fully utilised. Also, only 7% of those surveyed said their data was excellent. Badge swipes don’t really tell you how the space is being consumed, and you need to have more data points. The more data you can utilise, the better you can predict occupancy patterns and, as a result, have a more informed portfolio strategy.
