Are Fridays in the office officially dead?

• Mondays are getting busier but Friday footfall is dropping
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays continuing to bounce back
• Office occupancy in New York is up on all five days, with the US capital witnessing a sharper footfall resurgence

LONDON, 29th NOVEMBER 2023 – Central London professionals are moving further towards a four day office week, according to thousands of devices monitored by listed office management software group essensys.

The return to work is growing between Monday and Thursday, with Tuesday the busiest day of the week, according to essensys software which analyses occupier traffic across its London portfolio.

essensys’ figures, which compare the last four months with the equivalent period in 2022, show that Tuesday’s office footfall is up 14.5 percent.

The year-on-year uptick was also witnessed on Thursday (11 percent), Wednesday (5.7 percent) and Monday (5.3 percent). Tuesdays are currently the busiest across the week in London.

However, Fridays have seen a decline of 2.7 percent compared to last year, as professionals become increasingly keen on staying at home on Friday.

The story in New York’s office market is different, with all five weekdays witnessing significant increases, despite Fridays still remaining the quietest.

Year-on-year office footfall is up on Monday (38 percent), Tuesday (32 percent), Wednesday (38 percent), Thursday (36 percent) and Friday (22 percent). This is largely reflective of New York’s occupancy growth coming off a lower base compared to London, which had higher office occupancy levels in 2022. Wednesday is the busiest office in New York, according to the footfall data.

This data was captured from a selection of 300 offices sites in New York and London, where essensys’ software is implemented, partly to help landlords and operators track live occupancy trends.

Daniel Brown, Chief Revenue Officer at essensys, comments: “London and New York’s office occupancy figures reflect how the flight to quality has had a positive impact for the office sector. Data from across our sites over the past 12 months showcases that more people are returning to the office year-on-year.

City professionals are benefitting from well-located workspaces that offer a first-class occupier experience through amenities and seamless digital journeys that enhance productivity and collaboration. We expect this behavioural trend to translate into growing occupancy volumes for top-quality workspaces, that meet modern customer requirements.”

essensys software and technology is used in 270 cities globally, by leading real estate and flex brands such as Hines, Studio by Tishman Speyer, Bruntwood and Serendipity Labs.

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