Only a third of UK offices saw occupancy levels above 10% on the first working day of 2022

Data from workplace technology company, Freespace, found that just 33 per cent of UK offices saw occupancy levels above 10 per cent on Tuesday 4 January 2022, as workers continue to follow the ‘work from home if you can’ directive.

In comparison, an average of 80 per cent of offices operated at an occupancy above 10 per cent throughout December.

This is in contrast to research from the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management which found that more than half of office workers had expected to be back in the office on 4 January, and three-quarters back by the end of this week.

Commenting on the findings, Raj Krishnamurthy, Freespace CEO said: “We must carefully consider the impact the work from home directive is having on employee wellbeing. This current lull in occupancy during the Omicron variant gives business leaders an opportunity to address this, and to reconfigure their workplace to meet employee needs during this unpredictable period.

“Data from workplace sensors can support employees in a number of ways, not to mention the hygienic assurances it brings. For instance, if an employee regularly likes to sit next to a window, or perhaps must, the technology can retain this information and ensure there’s a seat available for them next to a window. This eliminates any concern or stress they may have as to whether a seat is available when they visit the office. It might also identify what sort of temperature or humidity an employee prefers to work in. This data will play a vital role in discussions between senior leaders and department heads over the next few months, and quite possibly beyond.”

Freespace has over 120,000 workplace sensors worldwide at major corporations, providing insights into working patterns and office utilisation across 130 cities, in 36 countries, and five continents.