Hybrid working has been very popular since the pandemic
(Picture: PA Archive)To get a snapshot of some of the latest working patterns across Britain, the Evening Standard asked every member of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index how many days on average staff work in the office each week, and if that would change or stay the same this year.
The results show that the old Monday- to-Friday office week that was once the default is far from making a comeback.
Here is a full list of the findings...
3i
The listed private equity group has around 250 office workers, of which close to 150 are based at the headquarters near Victoria station.
Employees are in the office for at least three days, with an option to work there or remotely for the rest of the working week.
Abrdn
The asset manager is headquartered in Edinburgh and the group has some 5500 office workers in total.
A company spokesman said: “We have a blended working model where colleagues will work from home and the office and will come to the office to collaborate, connect and coach for three or more days per week. The time and days spent in the office will depend on the type of work, and in discussion and agreement with a colleague’s manager.”
The spokesman added: “We know that being together regularly helps us achieve more than we can as individual contributors working separately. Blended working enables us to harness this power while maintaining the benefits of working from home on individual, quieter activity.”
Admiral
The insurance group said all of its offices accommodate hybrid working. It has around 11,000 staff at offices globally, including 7500 in South Wales.
Berengere Peter, group head of people experience, said the insurer believes hybrid working “can help our people to get a better work-life balance and is key to helping us to attract and retain the talent we need within our businesses”. Peter added: “We haven’t mandated the number of days in the office but, at both a team and broader business level, we regularly create opportunities for people to come together to collaborate, connect and maintain our culture.”
Anglo American
The mining giant has close to 850 employees based at its Charterhouse Street HQ. A hybrid working policy is in place and the firm does not have a set amount of days teams should physically be in the office. However, Anglo American pointed out it is seeing increasing numbers working from the London base, with the building regularly reaching close to capacity on certain days.
Aviva
The insurer said it expects full-time workers to be in one of the group’s offices around half their time, with at least two days in the office each week. A spokesman said Aviva recognises the benefits people get from working from home, including saving time and costs on commuting. But he added: “We are absolutely clear of the benefits of being in an office, learning from each other, feeling a part of something and building strong teams.”
Barratt
The housebuilder pointed out that some of its office-based workers will also be on construction and sales sites during the week, but on average staff will be in offices for around three days. It has approximately 3350 staff that work in offices and does not expect to make changes to the flexible working model this year.
Beazley
The specialist insurer, headquartered in the City, does not mandate days in the office. But Pippa Vowles, Beazley’s head of culture and people, said: “As our business is in an exciting growth phase, we are finding that more of our teams, particularly in underwriting, are spending more time in the office.”
British Land
The property developer has more than 400 employees based out of its Marble Arch HQ, where workers are asked to be for at least three days per week normally. That will remain the case for 2023, although a spokesman points out that the office is getting busier week on week, and mid-week occupancy is now at, or above, pre-pandemic levels.
Chief executive Simon Carter said: “While the pandemic has accelerated the trend towards hybrid working, demand for modern, high quality and sustainable office space has grown as businesses
recognise the vital role that great workspace plays in creating a culture of collaboration and learning, and in attracting and retaining the best talent.”
BT
The telecoms group, which opened a new Aldgate HQ in 2021, has approximately 40,000 employees that work in its UK offices. It typically expects staff to be in three days per week, but there is flexibility managed by teams. This model will continue in 2023.
Compass
The world’s biggest catering firm said 700 of its 50,000 UK and Ireland staff are based in offices, in Chertsey and Birmingham. Employees spend on average three days per week in the office and two days working at client sites and other locations. A spokesman said this was the picture pre-pandemic, and should be the same this year.
DCC
Support services group DCC has some 16,000 people across its businesses. With reference to its Dublin HQ where a team of around 100 is based, staff are generally expected to be in the office for three days a week, with remote working for the other days if workers want that.
Diageo
Drinks giant Diageo, behind brands such as Guinness and Johnnie Walker, recently opened a new Soho HQ which has been designed with a focus on hybrid working. It has capacity for around 800 staff, and generally they spend three days there and two working from home. The company added that it has long had a flexible working approach.
Experian
The credit data company, which has its global HQ in central London but most UK staff based out of its Nottingham office, offers flexible working. It has observed a pattern of the workforce choosing to work two to three days in the office a week, although a spokesman says it is really down to personal choice.
Rachel Duncan, chief people officer at Experian UK&I, said: “We care about work that works, whether that’s about where you work or adjusting your hours to better fit with your life. Our flexible working practices, including our hybrid working model where employees can split their working time between the office and their home, support our belief that this balance brings long-lasting benefits for our business as well as our people.”
Duncan added that since the pandemic the firm has invested in redesigning its offices “to create dynamic spaces, which encourage co-creation and collaboration”. She added: “Meeting in person is a key part of driving productivity in the workplace and we are seeing more of our people coming together to work through problems and develop ideas and plans. It’s important to stay connected and in-person meetings still play a vital part in creating a happy and healthy team.”
GSK
The pharmaceutical giant said it is asking office-based employees to be on site for a minimum of two to three days per week. GSK last year announced it will move to a new central London global HQ in 2024 from its current Brentford home.
At the time of the announcement chief executive Emma Walmsley said: “Our new headquarters will provide a fantastic new focal point for GSK people to meet, collaborate and ultimately deliver solutions for the urgent healthcare challenges facing the world.”
The site will be the base for around 3,000 people, who will continue to use a hybrid working model.
Haleon
The healthcare business behind brands including ChapStick and Panadol demerged from GSK to become Haleon in July 2022. It does not mandate a specific number of days in the office, but offers a mix of home, office and other locations working. The group, which employs approximately 2,300 people in the UK, has an interim HQ in Weybridge with a brand new building due to open there in 2025.
Hargreaves Lansdown
The financial services company has a hybrid working model, has 2,000 office-based employees, and is headquartered in Bristol. The vast majority of these workers are in two days a week on average, but the business says there are exceptions based on what roles people have. For example some workers may be in once a month, others in the office five days a week.
A Hargreaves Lansdown spokesman said: “Office based days provide vital social connectivity, a break from video meetings, as well as the opportunity to collaborate and network.”
Hiscox
The insurer has around 750 employees in the capital, with staff working in the office an average of three days per week.
Chief executive Aki Hussain said: “Building a business needs passionate and energetic people who come together to deliver for customers. We can do a lot of that online/remotely but our office environment is really important to us – it’s where we build relationships, collaborate and learn. Each team decides for themselves how they will best work together – one size doesn’t fit all - but it’s with one overarching principle: we must be there for our customers. So far, this is working well for us.”
Imperial Brands
The FTSE 100 tobacco group has some 550 office employees in the UK, mainly working out of Bristol and London sites. It estimates staff are in offices between two and three days per week, but thinks that could rise as enhancements are made at its Bristol office making it more appealing. The project is focused on creating a contemporary, flexible and comfortable workspace.
A spokesman said: “We recognise that meaningful collaboration will play an important role in the transformation of our business, and that is why we are investing to create workplace environments that enable this to happen.”
Informa
The events and research business said the majority of staff work in a “balanced way” with a mixture of home and office hours. It expects that flexibility to remain going forward, but decisions on working patterns rests with different teams, of which Informa has numerous.
InterContinental Hotels Group
The hotels giant behind the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands, in January 2023 formally opened its new global HQ in Windsor. It features office space, modern meeting rooms ,event space and a recording studio.
IHG did not say how many days staff will work in the office, but at the time of the opening, boss Keith Barr said: “It was important for us as a company to move to a space that empowered us to work collaboratively, flexibly and in way that is truly reflective of today’s evolving workforce.”
IAG
A spokesman for the airline group’s British Airways business said: “We’re advocates of flexible working and collaboration and we don’t have a one size fits all approach.”
Kingfisher
The parent of DIY chain B&Q and Screwfix is headquartered in Paddington and has some 1350 office-based employees. It said they work an average two to three days in the office per week, something it expects will continue this year.
Landsec
The landlord and developer has over 500 employees across its regional centres and its head office in Victoria. The company said its flexible working policy doesn’t dictate how teams divide their time between home and the office. However, it has seen the majority of people choosing to spend “multiple days a week” in offices, and anticipates that will steadily increase over time.
A spokesman said: “Offices are an important part of any business, they play a role in building company culture, facilitating collaboration and promoting wellbeing. To have the most impact, offices need to be more than just a place to work, they must become spaces where people want to spend time. We believe that quality buildings which have been designed sustainably, promote wellbeing and are located close to leading retail and leisure choices can help business to attract and retain talent - allowing them to thrive.”
Legal & General
The asset manager and insurance group has around 7,500 workers in offices in London, Cardiff and Hove.
It said workspaces and technology has been upgraded to make more suitable for hybrid collaboration. The company also said that occupancy numbers keep increasing, with a weekly office occupancy of 72.6% (84.5% for London) as of the week commencing 23rd January 2023. That contrasts with a weekly office occupancy of approximately 50% for all sites, and 57% for London as at August 2022.
NatWest Group
The state-backed lender operates within a hybrid framework and around 87% of staff have a hybrid working pattern. It does not mandate when employees come into the office, but on average it is one to two days a week. That can vary depending on roles.
The Edinburgh-headquartered banking group began to implement this framework for working in September 2021. A spokesman said:
“The feedback has been positive; colleagues are feeling better connected to their teams since the introduction of the hybrid framework and 91% of colleagues feel they have sufficient flexibility to balance work and life.”
Next
The High Street retail giant has around 4000 office based staff and is based out of Enderby, Leicester. Staff work in offices an average of three days per week, although this can range from none to five depending on a role.
The chain thinks this average number could increase in 2023, “but not significantly”.
Persimmon
The York-headquartered housebuilder said: “Our office-based colleagues benefit from flexible working as agreed with their line managers. We saw many return to the office in 2022 and we expect that position to be maintained in 2023.”
Phoenix Group
The London-headquartered savings and retirement business employs around 6650 staff. It said offices are occupied by staff throughout the week, but Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are generally busier than Mondays and Fridays.
Sara Thompson, group HR director at Phoenix Group, said: “Most of our staff work from home for at least one day a week, and the average weekly attendance at our offices varies depending on the events and activities our colleagues are involved in.”
Thompson added: “Having a flexible and agile business that supports diversity of thought, experience and outlook among our colleagues has always been important to us. Inclusivity sits at the heart of this and having a hybrid, flexible working model that enables us to attract and retain top talent and support a diverse organisation that is reflective of society is central to this.”
Rentokil
The pest control group said most of its staff are working on customer premises rather than Rentokil offices. But for the minority that are in office-based roles, days in the office can vary but can it is not uncommon to be in three to four days per week.
Rightmove
The property website has around 450 employees that work from company offices. Everyone comes in two days per week to Rightmove’s offices, in London, Milton Keynes and Newcastle, and they have the option to work the rest of the week in the office or remotely. Teams also meet at Rightmove sites for workshops.
The firm said it last year asked employees how many days they would like to work in the office and how many at home, and that informed its two day a week office policy.
Rio Tinto
Globally the group employs 50,000 staff in 35 countries. In the UK the mining company has close to 200 employees working at the London and Reading offices
Typically the UK staff are in the office two-four days per week, and since 2020 Rio Tinto has had a global flexible working policy for those working in office-based roles which asks individuals and their leader to agree between them an appropriate working pattern depending on their roles.
The company observed that in recent weeks the London office has been operating at full capacity for a number of days each week. The firm expects this trend to continue.
Rolls-Royce
The engineering giant has approximately 10,000 office-based workers, mainly in Derby and Bristol.
Since January 2023 staff have been expected to spend an average of three days per week in Rolls-Royce workplaces. Before then, there was no set suggestion of days to be spent in the office.
RS Group
The industrial equipment distributor has around 100 office-based workers in its corporate HQ in King’s Cross. Its staff work on average between two and three days in the office per week. RS Group anticipates that number could rise in 2023 as more work social events that took place pre-Covid come back.
Sage
Newcastle-headquartered software group Sage says individual teams are empowered to set their own hybrid work schedule through team agreements, and it has found that most teams come in two to three days per week.
The firm said it has had “great success” with its hybrid working model so far, so it will continue in 2023. It will this year focus on how it can ensure that workplaces can “continue to foster collaboration and innovation in this new hybrid model while also being inclusive and welcoming for all”.
Sage added that its ‘Flexible Human Work’ approach is not a set of rules about office-based days or remote days, but rather a framework for flexibility that each team leader can experiment with to come up with a tailored schedule that works for their team.
Schroders
The asset management company says a move announced in 2020 to permanently embrace flexible working remains in place.
At the time London-headquartered Schroders said the decision would “empower employees to adopt working practices” that best meet client responsibilities, business requirements and their individual working patterns, “while also ensuring that we still have face-to-face interaction to maintain our culture of collaboration, innovation and strong productivity”.
The company did not say how many days staff are in each week typically.
Segro
The London-headquartered warehouses firm has 440 staff that are office based. On average, they are in three days per week, in line with Segro’s flexible working policy that was introduced last year. It expects the number to be the same in 2023.
Chief executive David Sleath said: “We believe that work can be performed effectively in different workspaces and locations depending on the different types of tasks and the level of interaction and collaboration needed. From seeing customers and collaborating with colleagues in offices to visiting worksites and working in a quiet space at home when focus and concentration are needed, we recognise that a combination of work locations are part of normal working life.”
Shell
Of energy giant Shell’s UK staff, some 3900 are in London and 1100 in Aberdeen. The global HQ is in Waterloo and Shell thinks it likely there will be higher office occupancy this year than in 2022.
Currently, occupancy is higher in the middle of the week than it is on Mondays and Fridays.
The firm said it takes a flexible approach to working and line managers are empowered to agree with their teams what typical working patterns should be. A spokesman said: “We believe there is significant value in staff being in the office on a regular basis – it has benefits for collaborative working, morale and mental well-being, amongst other things, but we also recognise the need for flexibility and work-life balance, so there isn’t a mandatory minimum number of days on which people must be in the office.”
Spirax-Sarco Engineering
The firm, which has more than 10,000 staff globally, including 2,500 in the UK, said its aim is to support traditionally office-based colleagues “to work wherever they are at their best and most productive, while keeping in touch with and including each other”.
The company said in line with the spirit of its hybrid working policy it does not monitor attendance at the office, but it would estimate that, on average, colleagues visit its UK offices two-three days a week.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering is headquartered in Cheltenham.
St James’s Place
The Cirencester-headquartered wealth manager said full time employees are expected to work a minimum of two days in an SJP office per week. There may be variations to that on a case-by-case basis, dependent on an individual’s circumstances or job requirements.
There are no plans to change its current requirements.
Standard Chartered
The London-headquartered lender employs around 2,000 people in the UK out of its 83,000-strong global workforce. It announced plans to move to a hybrid working model back in November 2020.
It said its latest insight shows that of those who’ve opted for hybrid working, the most common arrangement is two days working from home and three days working in the office, followed by the second most common arrangement being three days working from home and two days working in the office.
Tesco
The grocer has around 6,000 office-based workers, with the HQ in Welwyn Garden City. It said its current blended working policy is at least two days a week in the office, with the option to work from a different location or from home the rest of the time
It expects those days to say the same this year.
Unilever
The consumer goods giant has several office sites in the UK and in Dublin, and has seen staff in offices at least two days per week on average. That will likely continue this year.
United Utilities
The Warrington-headquartered listed water company said around 40% of its employees (2,400) are office-based. They on average work in the office three days per week and this will continue in 2023.
Its hybrid working teams have found it useful to combine collaborative working days in the office with heads-down time at home.
Weir
The Glasgow-headquartered engineering company mainly has staff at manufacturing sites, but has 165 staff based at one office in the UK.
In Glasgow, people spend around 50% of their time in the office, but Weir expects this will rise. Office based team members have been returning to offices since autumn 2021, although with greater flexibility for home working than pre-pandemic. A spokesman said: “We believe office based days enhance collaboration, team building and training opportunities for all colleagues.”
