UK Think Tank Predicts The Return Of Five Day Work Weeks

The Centre for Cities think tank believes that that traditional five-day work week could become the norm again within two years.

Companies have turned to hybrid working arrangements that blend the home and office as part of their post-pandemic strategies. However, analysts are predicting a pivot back to pre-pandemic structures.

“I expect we will see three or four days a week in the office as the UK recovers,” said Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities. “Over the longer term, I’m quite hopeful that we will see people return five days a week.”

Swinney adds that this is mainly because the office offers a collaborative, spontaneous environment that can’t be replicated with a remote workforce.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, most people did not work from home in 2020. Still, the amount of workers who did more than doubled throughout the pandemic.

While demand for city centre office space is gowing, it is happening at a very slow pace. According to Savills, office takeup across the UK’s six biggest cities has grown since the second quarter of 2020.