Spring is well and truly here as we enter into May and into further lockdown easing within England. It is becoming clearer that businesses up and down the country are noticing the nation’s overall positivity. With the next stage of lockdown restrictions eased this week, companies can finally breathe a sigh of relief after the difficult start to 2021. As a country, we can now dine inside, hold gatherings of up to 30 people and visit museums and other indoor venues and this highlights that we are all going to right way to reach our summer of no restrictions.
From an office perspective, we are now noticing the corporate world returning to the workplace. The intense level of safety which was been put in place over the past year is now in action as we all work hard to continue to reduce the spread of COVID 19. Bigger offices have been in a high demand across Weston Business Centres which highlights that although we are gradually returning to work, this does not mean we are returning to the old commute. The longer the pandemic has progressed, we are seeing more companies leave London and create workplaces closer to their employees’ homes. Even with our smaller offices, we are seeing a trend of satellite offices instead of the one central London based office that was around pre March 2020.
Another big tread we are seeing moving into May is a new level of flexibility that businesses are using to bring their staff back to the office. Both our Stansted Business Hub and Colchester Centre are 24/7 access, allowing all clients to access their own spaces whenever they need to and therefore give them the option of breaking away from the tight schedule of the 9 to 5 each day. With more varied hours, companies are able to give their employees the option of returning to the office during quieter hours to avoid any risks of overcrowding the spaces.
We feel we still have a steady road ahead of us but the positivity that this week brings has shown us that it is worth the journey. With indoor hospitality opening and reaching the penultimate stage in the roadmap, it is all positive from here on!