When relocating professionals across the globe, a short commute to a financial district, a company headquarters or a business park was traditionally in the top three requirements. Now, with employees proving that working from home doesn’t hinder productivity, the temporary switch to desks in our dining rooms is a more permanent working arrangement.
In fact, Bloomberg News reported in August 2021 that Apple had delayed a return to its corporate offices until at least 2022, in favour of home working. The tech giant joins a list of 30 leading companies that have switched to long-term remote working – an illustrious list that includes Amazon, Facebook, Siemens, Spotify and Twitter.
To establish whether the UK’s workforce had flooded back to their offices in 2021, Remit Consulting worked in partnership with the British Property Federation and the Property Advisors Birmingham. It began analysing data from 153 key office properties from May 17th 2021, monitoring the number of daily staff and visitors entering the buildings in Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle.
The results – published in the Return Report – found that, nationally, an average of just 11.2% of staff were recorded as being in the office as of the week ending 25th June 2021. In London, the City posted a return rate of 9.3%, with 6.2% recorded in the Docklands. In Glasgow, the return rate has been consistently below 5% – findings that dovetail with another report.
The Work-from-Anywhere Index from Nestpick not only highlights that the international business sector as an entire entity is embracing remote working practices, but it also identified the top 75 global cities worldwide for remote working.
Three key areas were analysed to decide where was best for relocation and remote working: costs and infrastructure; legislation and freedoms; and live-ability. Aspects scored were diverse, ranging from home office room rent and internet speed/capacity, to the weather and the city’s Covid-19 vaccination rate.
Out of 75 international cities, Glasgow (where office occupation has proven to be low), ranked in 8th place – only beaten as the highest-scoring UK location by London, which took 5th spot. Melbourne was the city that came out on top, followed by Dubai, Sydney, Tallinn, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Glasgow, Montreal and Berlin. Edinburgh took 17th place – the only other UK city to make the top 75.
Wherever professionals are relocating, the quality of rental accommodation has never been more important. Here at Adleo Relocation, we have noticed the list of property ‘must haves’ is changing in line with adjusted working practices – whether that’s 100% home-based or a flexible pattern that’s split between a central office and remote working.
When looking for the right rental property, it is worth considering:
- Broadband speeds: super-fast fibre for reliable video calls and cloud computing
- Dedicated home office: a stand-alone space where a permanent desk can be set up
- Mobile phone reception: ideally 5G but 4G as a minimum
- Suburbs with commuter links: fewer urban locations with short travel times to city centres
- Countryside living: small towns and villages with mainline rail links
Here at Adleo Relocation, we create bespoke relocation and orientation packages for every professional, taking into account their working patterns and lifestyle requirements. Get in touch with our friendly team for further details.
