Young Londoners are leading the charge in returning to the office, while older workers’ preference for remote work is contributing to the UK lagging behind global rivals. In a study by the think tank Centre for Cities, London had a lower office attendance rate than Paris, New York, Singapore and Sydney. However, the UK capital was ahead of Toronto. Gen Z workers in London, aged 18 to 24, are present in the office an average of 3.1 days a week, compared to just 2.5 days for those aged 35 to 44. Attendance slightly increases to 2.7 days for workers aged 55 and over. Younger workers may prefer office settings because 43% of them report working best there, likely due to having less space and privacy at home. Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “The standard narrative is young workers are shirkers, but actually [they] are back in the office and it’s the middle or more experienced workers that tend to be less in the office.” Despite 95% of workers acknowledging the benefits of office work, such as collaboration and relationship-building, attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels in all surveyed cities.
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