London is leading the UK’s ‘return to the office’ trend, according to a new national survey by FI Property Group.

The poll of 2,000 people nationwide found that 36% of workers in the capital have seen their employer increase office attendance requirements over the last 12 months – compared with a national average of 26%.

This suggests that businesses in London are accelerating efforts to bring workers back into the workplace as they refine their post-pandemic working models.

The research comes as FI’s wider national survey found that banter with colleagues is the aspect of office life that people value the most, with over half (57%) rating it as the biggest appeal of working in an office environment.

Other perceived advantages of working in an office were meetings in person (33%); feeling more connected to company culture (32%); and a proper working environment (31%).

The poll of 2,000 people nationwide also revealed that more and more people are migrating back to the office in the post COVID era – over three quarters (83%) of respondents said they now spend at least three days a week in the office, while nearly half (49%) of those surveyed work full-time from the office – five days a week.

Nearly half (48%) of respondents said they are most productive in the office compared to only 26% who feel most productive at home, while more than three quarters (79%) of those polled feel most connected to their team when in the office.

When it came to working from home, the three most-cited benefits were lifestyle choices, not work advantages – casual dressing (53%), running personal errands such as putting on a wash (45%), and saving on commuting costs (44%).

In contrast, the biggest distractions when working from home were TV, household chores (both cited by 33% of respondents), children (32%) and social media (29%).

Other key survey findings included:

An onsite cafe or food options is the biggest factor that would encourage people to work more in the office – 29% of respondents
Workers say they would travel an average of 39 minutes to reach an office that meets their expectations
68% of under-30s have raised their expectations of office space since pre-COVID, compared to 52% nationally

Tim Knowles, Founder and Managing Director of FI Property Group, said: “What’s clear from our new survey is that the office is definitely back – people want human interaction and feel more productive and more connected in an office environment – whether that’s full time or as part of a hybrid working arrangement.

“From our previous research we know that people now demand more of their office space so it matches or betters the home workspace in terms of comfort and facilities; information we’ve taken on board when designing our latest office developments such as 1 Newbridge Square in Swindon and 58 Clarendon Road in Watford.”