Belgium and France lead Europe’s return to the office

France and Belgium are leading the return of workers to the office in Europe, while Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK are lagging behind. JLL’s Is hybrid really working? report shows that office workers in the former two countries are spending an average of 3.6 days working from the office each week, while those in the latter four are spending an average of 2.5 days working from the office. The majority of international organisations (87%) are encouraging employees to work from the office at least some of the time. Today, only 20% of employees work fully remotely or one to two days in the office, down from 39% a year ago. However, the data demonstrates varying approaches to the return to the office across Europe. Flore Pradère, research director for global work dynamics research at JLL, said: “While return to office rates vary by region and geography, office attendance is starting to hit an equilibrium in terms of existing days in the office and employee expectations, with a third of organisations across the globe now making attendance compulsory on particular weekdays. Working patterns are more established and employers and employees know where they stand – flexibility for both parties remains key.” While some companies are looking for “less space, better space”, JLL’s data reveals that 18% have not changed their real estate portfolios and 22% have actually increased their footprint. In H1 2023, 79% of employees globally were in the office more than three days a week, compared with 51% in H1 2022, showing how work styles are evolving, with more of us working for more days in the office. Workers continue to find value in the physical office as a hub for socialisation, innovation and professional growth, but report that commuting, noise and lack of privacy are the top barriers to working from the office. JLL found that 42% of office space globally has already been adapted to meet the changing needs of employees, including creating flexible, amenity-rich, collaborative spaces. And 69% of organisations are implementing shared workstations in an attempt to make better use of their office space by supporting a wider diversity of needs. The report draws on the global feedback of more than 200 corporate real estate decision-makers from July to August 2023 and a year-long survey of more than 20,000 office workers. To send feedback, e-mail julia.cahill@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGJuliaC or @EGPropertyNews Photo © Shutterstock