New research shows employers gave staff choice to self isolate despite lack of Government instruction

New data from leading employee parking software ParkOffice has shown that employers allowed their staff to abandon the office enmasse during the spread of the Omicron variant pre-Christmas, despite there being no official Government advice to restrict movement. ParkOffice is a global parking management software solution for smart offices that enables employers and employees to optimise employee parking, managing parking spaces for more than 100,000 workers worldwide.

Over the four week period between when the Omicron variant was discovered in the UK (27th November) and the traditional break for Christmas, there was a massive decline in office goers of 92.5% across 15 towns and cities in the UK.

The study tracked the parking behavior of more than 10,000 employees across 15 towns and cities in the UK between 1st January 2021 and 7th February 2022 to measure the impact of the pandemic on parking trends as both employers and employees look towards hybrid working.

With employers becoming more flexible due to repeated lockdowns, they are leaving it to employees to make self-informed choices over whether to attend the office or not. ParkOffice believes this will lead to employers planning more sustainable infrastructure in what has become a hybrid working, post-COVID world.

Other findings in the ParkOffice survey include:

There was a 300% surge in employees returning to the office Following Freedom Day (19th July 2021).

There is evidence that more employers are taking a hybrid approach to work conditions. Following the parking peak following Freedom Day, parking numbers declined by 23% before holding steady until late November 2021. This trend has repeated following the Christmas holidays. Following an initial peak, a steady decline is currently taking place.

Hybrid working has led to a noticeable decline in the numbers of people attending the office, with smart parking bookings up until the 24th of January at 10% lower than the same period last year.

Tech companies are currently the biggest drivers of smart parking adoption across Britain.

Recent figures from the RAC Foundation show that, on average in the UK, there are over 27 million private cars, making, on average, 700 trips each year. It also found that 57% of parking acts at the end of a trip take place away from home, an average of 39 million every day. Such a decrease in figures from ParkOffice post-pandemic indicates that the software will be used to help employers rightsize their employee car parks in what has become a hybrid-working world.

Speaking about these latest findings, Garret Flower, CEO and Founder of ParkOffice, said:

“Managing employee parking is proving a real challenge for employers as we move into a post-pandemic world. Workers are using offices in totally new ways. We are seeing offices practically empty one day and full to the brim the next day. Having software that helps employers forecast and manage the commuter needs of a hybrid workforce has gone from being a nice to have to a must-have “