Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Hybrid workingOfficesCoronavirusVaccinationsLatest News

Business leaders rethink office space reduction plans

by Ashleigh Webber 24 Mar 2021
by Ashleigh Webber 24 Mar 2021 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Organisations appear to be scrapping, or rethinking, their plans to cut their use of office space post-pandemic, according to a survey by KPMG.

Chief executives are now less likely to want to reduce their office footprint than six months ago, and many are apprehensive about a fully remote workforce.

End of the office?

Is it really the end of the office?

Time to consider the impact of remote working on local economies?

Aviva to close offices in hybrid working plan

Only 17% of the 500 global CEOs polled by the accountancy firm in February and March want to cut some of their office space, compared with 69% surveyed in August 2020. This suggests that some of the downsizing has already taken place, or organisations have changed their mind, said KPMG.

Only 30% are considering a hybrid working model, and just 21% are looking to hire people who work predominantly remotely, compared to 73% who said the same in 2020.

“There has been a noticeable drop in appetite by corporate leaders to make wholesale changes to how employees work, post-pandemic. The Covid-19 crisis has accelerated future of work trends, but many global leaders are taking a more measured approach before making concrete decisions” said Bill Thomas, global chairman and CEO at KPMG.

“Before any decisions are made, CEOs want to be confident that their workforce is protected against this virus. The Covid-19 vaccine rollout is providing leaders with a dose of optimism, as they prepare for a new reality.”

Forty-five per cent do not expect business to return to “normal” until 2022 and 31% say this will happen later this year.

Six in 10 firms want to see over half of their workforce vaccinated before they take any action toward a return to the office, and 21% will ask visitors to inform them of their vaccination status when they visit their premises.

Recent research has revealed that home working has exacerbated feelings of being “always on”, and there are fears that staff will return to the office feeling burnt out.

This feeling has prompted global investment bank Citigroup to ban work-related video calls on Fridays while staff are working from home and designate 28 May as a company-wide holiday to encourage staff to reset.

In a memo circulated to staff this week, chief executive Jane Fraser said: “I know, from your feedback and my own experience, the blurring of lines between home and work and the relentlessness of the pandemic workday have taken a toll on our wellbeing. It’s simply not sustainable.

“After listening to colleagues around the world, it became apparent that we need to combat the ‘Zoom fatigue’ that many of us feel, so I overcame my initial resistance to this idea.

“We are a global company that operates across time zones, but when our work regularly spills over into nights, very early mornings and weekends, it can prevent us from recharging fully, and that isn’t good for you nor, ultimately, for Citi.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

CitiGroup’s announcement came following the news that junior bankers at Goldman Sachs informed the company’s management about their 95-hour working weeks, and threatened they would leave unless improvements were made.

  Organisational Development opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more Organisational development jobs

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
NHS staff won’t ‘bounce back’ without support
next post
1,500 more jobs to go at John Lewis

You may also like

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

Reform UK councils’ staff face WFH ban

6 May 2025

Remote working may have triggered jump in employee...

17 Apr 2025

Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness...

7 Apr 2025

Hybrid workers less sick and less stressed

28 Mar 2025

Dog owners more likely to want to work...

24 Mar 2025

Five years on: how has work changed since...

12 Mar 2025

Return to the office: Gartner highlights the risks...

27 Feb 2025

Ramadan in the workplace: top tips for employers

21 Feb 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+