Hubble introduced its part-time office service twelve months ago to cater to the growing demand for hybrid working solutions post-pandemic. These part-time offices, which offer dedicated spaces for one to three days a week, have become increasingly popular. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays see the highest demand, with 24%, 25%, and 23% of bookings respectively, while Mondays and Fridays remain largely unused. This trend, known as the TWT trend, results in businesses unnecessarily paying for underutilised space and energy during the rest of the week. Given that office rent is typically the second largest fixed cost for businesses, this represents a substantial financial burden.

An example of the savings achievable with a part-time office is Nurole, a global board recruitment platform. By switching to a three-day-a-week office arrangement, Nurole has saved £162,000 annually, reducing its office costs by 55% compared to its previous full-time office setup.

Businesses redirecting their savings from office costs are increasingly investing in employee wellbeing. Many are choosing prestigious Central London locations, such as Soho and Kings Cross, to attract staff back to the office. These areas are particularly appealing because they offer vibrant city life and convenient commutes, with 45% of Hubble's part-time office requests being for Central London locations. This move aims to enhance social interactions among colleagues and support a better work-life balance.

Tushar Agarwal, Co-Founder of Hubble, says, "The bar for coming back to the office is really very high now - workers have built their lives around increased flexibility and have now come to expect it. How many people want to commute to simply sit in a grey box room with strip lighting?

"The part-time office model is the new paradigm. Nearly all businesses with knowledge workers will have part-time offices by 2030. It’s simply not cost effective, or good business practice, to have a full-time office with empty desks nearly half the time"

The hybrid working model has demonstrated its ability to boost employee satisfaction while retaining the advantages of a traditional office setup. However, a survey commissioned by Hubble among UK business leaders found that the type of hybrid arrangement significantly influences satisfaction levels. The survey revealed that the most popular hybrid model involves ‘set office days per week,’ favoured by 51% of respondents. Following closely, 48% preferred ‘employee choice,’ while the ‘set number of days’ model was the least popular, garnering 44%.

In response to these findings, 69% of businesses surveyed indicated plans to revise their workspace strategies within the next twelve months. This suggests that many companies are still exploring the optimal hybrid approach to meet their teams' needs effectively.

Agarwal comments, “We’re still on a journey to ‘solving’ how we work post-pandemic. The most important thing at a time like this is for businesses to have the flexibility to try out different approaches to workspace, without tying themselves into long-term leases or wasting their money paying for empty desks.”