Central London is showing steady progress in returning to the traditional working day, with workers spending more time in the office than last year, according to new research. Data collected by the Centre for Cities in partnership with Savanta and Focaldata shows that the average full-time worker in Central London spent 2.7 days a week in the office in June 2024. This is an increase from 2.2 days recorded in April 2023.

Despite this change, London still lags behind other major global cities in terms of physical presence at work. For example, workers in Paris spend an average of 3.5 days a week in the city, while workers in Singapore, New York and Sydney spend an average of 3.2, 3.1 and 2.8 days there respectively. The findings are part of a report called ‘Back to the office: how London compares to other global cities and why it matters’, which surveyed employers and employees in six cities across four continents.

One of the report’s claims is that London employers are generally mandating fewer days in the office than their global counterparts. The average London employer with a mandate requires employees to be in the office 3.1 days a week. That’s fewer than Sydney, where the average mandate is four days, and behind Singapore (3.6 days), New York (3.4 days), Toronto (3.3 days) and Paris (3.2 days).

However, London businesses are increasingly pushing for more in-person work, with the survey suggesting that just seven per cent of London office workers would not be required to be in the office by June 2024, down significantly from 25 per cent in April 2023. The trend suggests that more businesses are recognising the value of physical presence and are adapting their policies accordingly.

The report also claims that employees may be more open to spending extra time in the office than expected. A substantial 95 per cent of respondents in London, which is in line with the average across all cities surveyed, acknowledged the benefits of more face-to-face interactions with colleagues. Furthermore, only 9 per cent of workers in London indicated they would consider changing jobs if the demands on their presence increased.

Interestingly, London’s youngest workers, aged 18-24, are leading the shift in attendance levels. This group spends more time in the office each week than any other age group, bucking the trend seen in other cities. Furthermore, 43 per cent of these younger workers say they work best in an office, the highest percentage of any age group surveyed.