Will Office Dynamics Shift In 2024?

• A recent survey of 175 office workers in the U.K. reveals face-to-face meetings as the main reason for why people would want a return to the office.
• 59.2% of the office workers stated that they would consider leaving their current roles if full-time, in-office attendance were to be mandated. 
• The primary obstacle for employees returning to the office is commuting, with 70.1% of survey respondents citing travel expenses and time as their major concerns.

As the workforce turns the page on 2023, office space vacancies still remain higher than pre-pandemic levels — despite the increase in return-to-office mandates from many companies throughout the year.

The concerning challenges for the commercial real estate industry leads a lot of people in the workforce to question what collaboration will look like in the future, and more specifically, how offices will be utilized in 2024. 

A recent survey of workers in the U.K., published by Remit Consulting, reveals face-to-face meetings as the main reason for why people would want a return to the office. While it’s still unclear what the future holds in five or even 10 years, the survey suggests pressing trends that are expected to have a big impact on how we utilize offices next year. 

The survey questioned individuals working across a wide range of industries, with the majority of responses from workers based in the Greater London area.

Why would people go to the office?

In the survey, face-to-face meetings were cited as the top reason for office attendance. More specifically, 52.2% of respondents ranked it as their main draw to return to the office. 

The preference for face-to-face meetings is also revealing of how employees desire more opportunities for personal interactions — even if those interactions are over digital conference tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The survey suggests that even in hybrid work environments digital social interactions will remain important among employees, influencing how teams will collaborate next year. 

Other than face-to-face meetings, workers in the survey cited nine other reasons for going to the office. These included, from highest weighted responses to lowest:

• Change of environment
• Minimum number of days required in the office
• Socialize during/after work
• Ability to focus/more productive
• Concerns over impact on career for non-attendance
• More reliable/better technology than at home
• Employer incentives
• Inadequate workspace at home
• High cost of heating at home

On the contrary, when asked “what deters you from going to the office?” the top responses were:

• Cost/time spent commuting
• Concerns about public transport
• Office is too noisy/lack of desk/too many distractions
• Inadequate end of transport facilities
• Health concerns (related to the office/public transport)
• More reliable/better technology at home
• Caring responsibilities
• Poor weather 
• Anxiety issues
• Mobility/accessibility issues

Whether employees are drawn back in person or not, below are just some of the trends that will impact the office in 2024.

1. Hybrid working model:
One glance at both lists for why and why not an employee is going into the office and it is clear that hybrid work will remain the norm next year. The data from the Remit Consulting Survey coincides with the broader trends in the workforce, revealing reduced office attendance in the post-pandemic world. 

56.5% of the survey’s respondents stated that in the pre-covid world, they were in the office five days a week, and another 20% stated that they spent four days in the office. Astonishingly, those figures have decreased to just 8.2% and 16.4%, respectively. 

The fall in employee office attendance is revealing of just how different the workforce has become since the widespread adoption of remote work — which was the work environment that quickly rose to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit out of necessity. 

In the return-to-office debate, the three-day hybrid work model has emerged as the norm in 2023 — representing a working compromise between employer and employee. In fact, 93% of respondents stated that they still see a value in dedicated work locations. Remit Consulting suggests that this trend will produce “a transformed office landscape that accommodates flexible attendance patterns.”

2.Younger employees prefer in-office work:

Employees, specifically younger ones under the age of 35, prefer working at the office at-least part of the time. 

Remit Consulting data reveals that 69% of employees favor the office, and that number rises to 77% among employees who work in entry-level roles and 75% for those under 35 years old. Among the portion of employees who prefer some form of office work, reasons cited for this sentiment included greater opportunities to socialize and mentorship opportunities. 

It’s worth noting that 59.2% of the office workers also stated that they would consider leaving their current roles if full-time, in-office attendance were to be mandated. This suggests that although younger employees desire these professional networking and career development opportunities, there remains a high demand to maintain the flexible work environments that have become the norm since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

3.Demand for flexibility:

The demand for greater flexibility is particularly strong among workers in the 35 to 54 age group. The survey’s data coincides with broader evidence of the increased demand for work-life balance. 

Many in this age range highly value flexible working arrangements. Research suggests that it has helped historically marginalized groups including working parents, and individuals with disabilities, find greater opportunities to participate in the workforce. 

The demand for greater flexibility will likely also influence flexible child care arrangements. There’s a possibility that next year more landlords and businesses will look into transforming underused office space into in-house childcare services, to further attract and retain working parents to their firms. 

4.Commutes remain a challenge:

The top factor preventing employees from going back to the office is commutes.   According to the survey, 70.1% of the respondents cited travel expenses and time as their top concerns. 

Somewhat related to physical commutes, concerns regarding public transportation were also found to influence office attendance. The survey reveals “End-of-journey facilities” as an important consideration for developers aiming to attract the workforce back into office spaces.

Some coworking providers are working to cut commutes through opening spaces in suburban areas. One prime example is IWG, which has recently announced its expansion into 21 spaces in the Chicago-metro area, with a majority of those based in the city’s suburbs. 

5.Facilities and technologies at work:

Remote and hybrid work has also led employees to design their own workspaces at home, and these home offices might provide greater support than what a company office space currently provides. 

Exceptional IT support topped the list among the most desired office amenities in Remit Consulting’s survey, with 71.3% of the respondents citing it as “indispensable”. When asked what is considered to be important to have within a 5-minute walk to the office, if not in the office, respondents cited:

1. Public transport access
2. Supermarkets/shops
3. Parks/green space
4. Bars & restaurants
5. Health & wellbeing facilities
6. Parking facilities
7. GP/healthcare facilities
8. Childcare/petcare facilities
9. Laundry/dry cleaning

In terms of physical office design, businesses and landlords will likely design quieter spaces to limit distractions, which promotes greater productivity. Likewise, designing additional meeting spaces would promote greater opportunities for face-to-face and video calling.

Heading into 2024, the preference for hybrid work is obvious. The emphasis for offices will be on how well employers can offer increased flexibility while promoting productive collaboration for younger and mid-career employees. 

Challenges like commutes and the need for quality technology and amenities will contribute to how well office attendance turns out on a case-by-case scenario next year. By accommodating the modern demands from employees, office spaces will transform in the way they are designed.