According to Virgin Media O2, data shows that almost nine out of ten workers in the UK must now work more days per week.
The latest Business Movers Index shows that Mondays and Thursdays are the days when employees must be in office. These are 65% and 67% of all mandatory workdays. It revealed that just under half of the employees were required to work on Fridays.
Three quarters of companies demanded that employees attend in person, three days per week, during the last quarter of the year. This is up from 67% at the end of 2023.
In the same time period, the percentage of companies that require attendance four days per week increased from 46% up to 50%.
55% of those who work remotely say they do so because it gives them more flexibility. 55% also claim to have saved money. And 35% enjoy being able focus on their own tasks without having to worry about colleagues.
Virgin Media O2’s index is based on mobile data insights and reflects recent employer announcements regarding return-to-office policies.
WPP staff, for instance, launched a campaign in anticipation of a new four-day return policy.
The investment bank JP Morgan also ordered a return to work, but encountered problems last week because of desk shortages.
Monica Mercado Paez is the head of AI at Virgin Media O2 Business. She said: “As companies have started to establish office attendance policies, we’ve seen that our anonymised, aggregated O2 data reveals a mixed effect on commuting across the country.
“Despite these measures, the number Brits who commute to major towns has decreased by 7% between 2024 and 2023, showing that companies still embrace hybrid and remote work options.”
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