The Centre for Cities report, released this month, made clear that London is losing ground to the likes of Paris and New York when it comes to the return to office.
A generational gap has emerged, with older employees preferring to avoid the commute and leaving their younger colleagues to make the most of working and socialising in our vibrant city. For London to catch up, the report has three recommendations - to cut the costs of commuting, reset attitudes amongst employers and employees, and to encourage a collective sense of city identity. None are especially radical, but each requires urgent action..
Nowhere is this more true, or easier for the Government to lead by example than across the Whitehall District. For centuries it has been home to our most powerful institutions and thousands of professional workers so is ripe for a Government-led mandate to return to the office. The Government has the chance to set an example by reintroducing thebenefits both professional and personal of face to face contact to older and often more senior colleagues who are currently shunning the office.
The Centre for Cities report highlights that older workers often see little personal benefit to leaving their garden offices. For the sake of our economy and their colleagues, we mustincentivise their return by making the commute less of a financial and physical drain. Their experience and interaction with the next generation is key to building back the soft-skills that supported their own career growth - lunches and networking are why city offices spark added value. We cannot allow a generation to pull the ladder up behind them and retreat to splendid isolation. With the Government placing focus on a consultation on a four day week, I strongly believe it is important that all involved remain open minded and avoid turning this into a binary debate between work from home and offices. The productivity benefits of personal freedom and flexibility can only come with investment in quality experiences of working andsocialising collectively. The report is right that there is little point in commuting if we are simply to sit at our desks all day on video conferences.
As the report notes, one of the reasons for London’s networking lagging behind other cities is that it has long lacked the concentrated business districts that define Manhattan or Paris. In contrast, our city has developed distinct business communities, from London’s political and corporate HQs in Victoria through to the lively creative agenciesof Camden and Shoreditch. Let’s all recognise that’s not a weakness but rather a strength.
Long-term London has demonstrated that the range and depth of its built environment, linked by a world-class transport network and safe streets, make it a world-class workplace. To socialise and make the most of the districts in which our offices are based, we must all feel the freedom to leave our desks to spend time with friends and colleagues overlunch-breaks and in evenings. By encouraging employees to come together in such informal settings we can help to break down the barriers between older and youngerworkers, and to support London’s appeal for all.
Ruth Duston is CEO of London HQ
