Significant increase in the number of Scottish workers entering the job in March, according to IWG

The group, whose brands include Regus and Spaces, found that north of the border, Aberdeen Airport and Fort Kinnaird and Lochrin Square in Edinburgh were among the fastest growing venues.

Visits to Scottish offices and workspaces increased by 29% last month as part of the continued lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, and ‘more people felt empowered to choose how and where they worked’ , said IWG.

He added that data, based on his daily Wi-Fi connections, shows that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the most popular days to go to the office.

The group, which claims to be the world’s largest provider of offices and flexible workspaces, said Fort Kinnaird (+41%) saw the largest growth in the number of workers visiting its shared office, followed by Aberdeen Airport and Lochrin Square (both +40%).

Also in the top ten in Scotland are West George Street (+34%) and Charing Cross (+32%) in Glasgow, followed by George Street and St Andrew Square in Edinburgh (+26% each), as well as West Regent Street in Glasgow (also 26%), Marischal Square in Aberdeen (+25%) and South Gyle in Edinburgh (+24%).

IWG said more than a quarter of respondents said they would consider changing jobs if asked to return to the office full-time, while 90% reported that flexible working was a significant benefit if they were looking for a new role.

Scottish office workers identified better mental health (60%), better work/life balance (58%) and more time for hobbies and friends (53%) as the main benefits of hybrid working.

Mark Dixon, Founder and Managing Director of IWG, said: “The shift to more flexible ways of working at the heart of local communities is happening quickly and is irreversible.

“The data not only shows that there is a strong appetite to spend some time in an office environment, particularly local flexible spaces, but also the flexibility needed to rebalance personal and professional work commitments.

“As Covid restrictions across Scotland have eased, the increase in the use of shared workplaces demonstrates the growing popularity of hybrid working among employees, and the positive correlation with this freedom and levels of productivity.”

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