Hybrid working has become the norm for UK commuters, with employees typically spending two to three days a week in person at the workplace. According to Remit Consulting’s ReTurn report from March this year, average UK office attendance exceeded 40% every week from early January, reaching 44.2% in the week ending 13 February.
There are still challenges, however. A 2025 survey by London Heritage Quarter found that around 40% of the capital’s office workers expected some return to pre-pandemic patterns. But London’s high cost of living and expensive commuting remain major determinants of how often people come in – a trend also in evidence across the UK.
Many cite travel and daily expenses – transport, food and drink – as key barriers to spending more time in the office. This changing dynamic means that employers can no longer assume that staff will come in simply to work. Instead, the workplace must earn its place in people’s lives by offering genuine opportunities to connect, engage and experience company culture. This has led to a clear and noticeable shift in working patterns. The culture of the high street has moved indoors, into collaborative and creative workspaces.
People come in to meet colleagues, brainstorm, build relationships and feel part of something bigger – which is difficult to replicate remotely. What they are not doing is commuting simply to sit at a desk and answer emails. As a result, there is often a disconnect between what employers expect the workplace to deliver and what employees want.
Earning the commute
If coming into the office is now an active choice, employers have to make that decision worthwhile. It must prove its worth. There is a cost involved – both financially and in time and energy – so employers need to create real value in the working day.
That could mean better-designed spaces that encourage collaboration rather than endless rows of desks, or greater emphasis on coordinating team schedules so that colleagues are together. It also means enhancing the everyday experience through hospitality, food, drink and social interaction. These were once considered ‘nice to have’ extras, with prospective employees viewing them as cultural benefits beyond salary and perks.
Yet the rules have changed. Even amid talk of job scarcity, employers still need to justify the trip in. When done well, this can transform somewhere people have to be into somewhere they genuinely want to be.
For organisations, this shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is clear: attendance can no longer be driven by habit or policy alone. The opportunity is equally significant: as businesses rethink the role of the workplace, the result can be stronger engagement, higher productivity and improved retention.
One of the most widely discussed themes in the hybrid era is financial equity. There is growing recognition that commuting is no longer just a routine expense. This is especially true for people on lower incomes or living further from city centres. Once transport, lunch, coffee and sometimes childcare are added up, the cost of a day at work can quickly mount.
Employers are also becoming more aware that this burden is not shared equally. Higher-paid workers, or those living closer to central hubs, are often better placed to absorb these costs. Meanwhile, more junior employees or those forced further afield by unaffordable housing are likely to feel the impact most.
The 40% attendance figure raises the question of whether this level of occupancy represents a temporary phase or something more structural. If it reflects a longer-term shift, it suggests that the office’s function will continue to evolve. Rather than serving as the default setting for every task, it may increasingly become a destination for specific activities: human interaction or events that benefit from being in person.
The questions around 100% remote working, hybrid arrangements or full attendance are for individual organisations to answer. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But the real question is whether the result meets expectations. We have lived through Covid and a substantial proportion of today’s workforce have known nothing else. Many began their careers on the eve of the pandemic, during it or in the years that followed.
For Gen Z in particular, there is unlikely to be a meaningful pre-pandemic benchmark. Most have never experienced a world where commuting, grabbing lunch, meeting colleagues in person and organising family life around a five-day week were simply the norm.
Bringing high-street culture indoors
That norm may return, but I think it is unlikely. Hybrid working has helped many organisations to address commercial pressures, from reducing office footprints to lowering overheads. Yet I keep coming back to the same question: if the expectation is for people to commute more often, how do we make that journey worthwhile?
Perhaps the answer lies in taking inspiration from the high street. It has long been part of the daily rhythm of working life and forward-thinking organisations are now recreating that experience in-house.
The high street offers more than just convenience – it brings energy, sustainability, choice and a sense of connection to the wider world. Picking up a coffee from a favourite spot, heading out for lunch and enjoying informal interactions beyond the workplace have all shaped how people experience the working day.
The key difference now is that employees do not necessarily have to step outside to enjoy those benefits. This presents a real opportunity for employers, particularly against the backdrop of rising living costs.
According to Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker (March 2025), the average price of a coffee across coffee, sandwich and bakery chains has risen by 17% since 2022. Well-designed workplace cafés and hospitality spaces can become social hubs that encourage interaction and a sense of community.
By creating environments that mirror the quality, atmosphere and choice of the high street, organisations can make coming into work feel more engaging and purposeful. In doing so, they not only enhance the day-to-day experience but also give people a far stronger reason to come in at all.
Hybrid working hasn’t diminished the importance of the workplace – it has simply raised the bar for what it needs to deliver.
Russell Cowley is General Manager at FreshGround
