Half of big companies to cut desk space as bosses give up on back to office push

Finding comes as employees resist efforts to force them back in the workplace full-time

Half of large companies plan to cut back on desk space in a sign that many bosses are giving up on attempts to lure staff back to the office.

A survey of 350 multinational companies that together employ around 10 million staff globally found that 50pc are planning to reduce their office footprint.

Most are looking to cut between 10pc and 20pc of space.

It comes as many workers continue to resist efforts to force them back in the office full-time.

The survey, which was conducted by Knight Frank, found that most bosses were now resigned to the fact that employees will work at least some of the week from home for the foreseeable future.

56pc of large businesses have now permanently adopted a "hybrid" working style, where employees spend some days doing their jobs remotely.

Just under a third of businesses are still committed to having people back in the office full-time, Knight Frank found.

The estate agent said that it could lead to a glut of lower-end office space being left empty as companies cut their office needs.

Lee Elliot, head of research at Knight Frank said: "Lower quality, obsolete space will need to be repurposed – with conversion to residential uses to bring renewed vibrancy to urban centres an emerging strategy.

"We might also see conversion to other commercial uses such as hotels. Not all space will be subject to conversion, however, and we expect total office stock to decline in many urban centres over the next cycle."

The finding comes amid signs that managers are becoming weary with staff continuing to work from home.

Businesses ranging from JP Morgan and BlackRock to Disney and Apple have been stepping up efforts to draw people back to the office by setting minimum attendance requirements. JP Morgan has said that employees who fail to meet the target will face "corrective action".

Several chief executives have complained that remote work harms creativity.

However, many employees are resisting the push. Lloyds Banking Group was accused of inflicting "unnecessary disruption" on the lives of its employees after telling them to return to the office for just two days a week.

In New York, office occupancy has plateaued at about 60pc as holdouts continue working remotely.

Agents note that the majority of companies releasing space are in the tech or media industries. Spotify recently put 200,000 sq ft on the market for sublease at 4 World Trade Center, vacating five of its floors. Facebook also announced it is subletting roughly 250,000 sq ft of their 1.9 million sq ft office space in Hudson Yards.

Separate research from CBRE found that 72pc of businesses across Europe have reduced the number of assigned seating in their offices in the past year. The data showed that 73pc of companies have increased the amount of space used for collaborative work.