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‘People beginning to realise that London is still a great meeting place’, says expert

<p>Mr Brown expects the return to workplaces to build up during the summer, if infection rates stay low, with people possibly “testing the water” by initially coming back for one or two days a week.</p> (Jeremy Selwyn)

Mr Brown expects the return to workplaces to build up during the summer, if infection rates stay low, with people possibly “testing the water” by initially coming back for one or two days a week.

(Jeremy Selwyn)

People will be attracted back to work in London as it is “one of the world’s great meeting places”, one of the city’s leading experts said today.

Richard Brown, the Centre for London’s interim director, believes the capital is embarking on its “biggest ever work experiment” as people start to return to offices and other work settings.

Firms are trying various work models and staff may adopt new ways of getting to workplaces, possibly leading to a rise in the use of e-bikes and e-scooters, as well as walking and cycling.

“We have seen a real shift through the course of the pandemic between people celebrating their ability to work from home and people starting to realise that they are missing out on something,” Mr Brown told the Standard.

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“They are missing out on that interaction, formal or casual, with colleagues, with people from different companies, different employers, with the full range of people you meet in the city.

“That’s very much what London has specialised in for hundreds of years, bringing people together, and it’s one of those cities that is really seen as one of the world’s great meeting places.”

He emphasised that this “appetite” for interaction is also about “opportunities for leisure activities, for socialising that come after work, for the cultural richness of the offer, for the shops, for the whole ecosystem of central London”.

Many companies and workers overcame extraordinary challenges as the first Covid-19 wave hit, using technology to adapt to a working-at-home culture, especially during lockdowns.

“The experiment we are just starting now, in mixed ways of working, is an even bigger and more complex experiment... probably the biggest London has ever seen and certainly the most complex,” said Mr Brown.

Many chief executives and managers are aware of the risks of two classes of workers developing, the largely office-based, which could tend to be younger people, and those mainly working from home. If fewer experienced staff are in the office, it could also hinder professional development for younger staff.

The Office for National Statistics found that 43 per cent of Londoners performed their job from home at some point in 2020. Figures show people in the capital are gradually returning to offices.

Mr Brown expects the return to workplaces to build up during the summer, if infection rates stay low, with people possibly “testing the water” by initially coming back for one or two days a week.

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