Renatus｜Return to Office Survey 2022 Results｜

• Of our 1,383 responses, 57% were employees, 40% were employers with the remaining 3% classifying themselves as a mix of Chairmans, Partners, Non-Execs, Consultants, etc.
• We believe this gives a balanced perspective between employers and employees.

• Over 36% of our respondents indicated that they were part of a large organisation (250+ employees).
• The proportion of Small (10 – 49 employees) and Medium (50 – 249 employees) was 24% & 23% respectively, again giving us a balanced perspective given that an organisation’s size is likely to influence the ease of executing any potential return to the office.

• In terms of occupancy, there was >50% occupancy in 44% of respondents’ offices at the moment with this expected to rise to 57% post-Easter which augurs well for city centre activity.
• At present, there is no consistent level of occupancy across companies covered by our survey, which may reflect a lack of a defined plan for returning to work in general, or a varying desire to work from the office across different companies and sectors.
• At present, most offices from our survey are operating at under 50% capacity, with almost a third of offices operating at a minimal capacity (<25%).
• Our survey suggests that there will be a marked change after Easter, with the majority of respondents expecting occupancy levels of over 50%. Interestingly, almost a third of respondents expect near full occupancy levels after Easter (28%).

• It appears that a hybrid working model is here to stay, with 77% of respondents expressing their desire to maintain the current flexible working arrangements.
• Only 7% of responses indicated they would like to work fully remote, which suggests that almost all employers and employees recognise the value in some level of in-person interaction amongst their teams.
• In line with the favoured hybrid working model, only 17% of respondents see themselves working in the office every day, with 1-2 days in the office appearing to be the prefered option with 27% of the vote, and 3-4 days not far behind with 26% of the vote.
• When we isolate employers and employees, we find that employees are slightly more in favour of a hybrid model but that the overall trend remains. 26% of employers would prefer “full time in the office” going forward with only 10% of employees wanting this. 70% of employers would like a hybrid of both with 82% of employees also preferring a hybrid approach.

• A phased return to the office is well underway according to our survey, with 53% of respondents stating that they are already back at the office in some capacity.
• A staggering 14% indicate they have no intention to return back to the office, with the same number uncertain about their company’s plans.
• In relation to the ‘Other’ category, with 7%, a strong theme emerging is the preference for the hybrid model, increased flexibility and never returning to the office full-time again

• In relation to people’s concerns regarding a return to the office, time spent commuting and decreased productivity were the main focus, accounting for 24% and 21% respectively.
• 10% cited no concerns, while exposure to Covid also represented a minimal challenge, with only 8% of responses pointing to it as a worry.
• Unsurprisingly, inflationary costs featured prominently in responses and are likely to be a recurring theme as the world navigates the current crises.

• The adoption of online communication has been in play for a long time now, so it is no surprise to see 68% of respondents expecting to use video conferencing tools such as Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom the same amount going forward.
• With the general trend of people occupying their offices more frequently, 14% do state that they expect to use video conferencing tools marginally less.

• Business sentiment for the year ahead is positive with 43% stating their respective business’ performance will be ‘a little better’ & 25% stating performance will be ‘significantly better’.
• This is great to see after what has been a challenging couple of years for both employers and employees alike.

• As is to be expected with any event which brings the world to a near halt for two years, the pandemic has greatly influenced the way we work and the way we will work moving forward, as evidenced by our survey results.
• Flexibility looks to be the all-encompassing word to describe the expectations of employers and employees alike moving forward. The recurring themes put forward by our respondents centred on a more hybrid working model, with a bigger emphasis on measuring productivity rather than simply time spent working.
• Respondents expect defined WFH policies to be put in place, with both employers and employees highlighting the threat of losing staff if workers were forced back into the office without any consultation or flexibility.
• Given the expectation that work schedules and locations will continue to remain flexible, it is also unsurprising to see respondents predicting a greater digital focus across their organisation.

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