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FOCUS FEATURE 18 www.thefis.org A ROUND a third of the UKworkforce’s time was spent in the office until earlier this year, when the UKwent into lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, around 50%of workers have been working fromhome and there has been industry-wide speculation about whether this could become the future normal. So, with the advent of new technology and apps making it easier for people to work remotely, how will this impact on the commercial office market and employer/ employee options? Some business leaders have indicated that they will now shed leased office space – hinting that not everyone will go back to the office. As many as four-in-10 businesses will review their physical sites in the coming months, giving them a chance to save money on rent, according to a survey by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The APSCo survey revealed that a third will downsize and half will cancel plans to rent more space. The combination of rent, service charge, business rates, utilities and other occupational costs often makes a business tenant’s property costs second only to its staff costs so there is likely to be an increased impetus to cut these outgoings. The Financial Times (FT) recently reported that many major UK chief executives are looking to cut property portfolios given the ease with which their companies have adapted to remote set-ups. Meanwhile a home worker survey by D2E, an independent firm of consulting engineers which has offices in London, Nottingham and Manchester, revealed that 44% of respondents will be asking employers to allow them to work for at least some days of the week from home. Goodbye to commuting The commute is what most home-workers currently fear about returning to an office environment. Almost two thirds - 63% - of those questioned in the D2E survey said they were dreading commuting on public transport. An investigation by Totaljobs UK reveals that prior to lockdown, most UK workers spent more than a year of their lives travelling to and fromwork. The average UK worker will spend 400 days of their life commuting, with those commuting into London travelling for 559 days. Those surveyed said a hybrid strategy of working from home two days a week, is one ideal scenario. Professor Jennifer Roberts, Dept. of Economics University of Sheffield, and Institute for Economic Analysis of Decision Making (InstEAD), has said this negatively affects workers’ wellbeing. “There is increasing evidence that commuting adversely affects our psychological and physical health – even after we account for the increased wages IS ZOOM REAL COMPETITION TOTHE OFFICE? Stephanie Cornwall looks at the mass shift to working from home and examines the perceived pros/cons of being in an office. Ahybrid of home and office-based working is being favoured for the future.