Since the pandemic, parts of London have become a relative ghost town on Fridays – and now one prominent firm has responded by shutting down half its office space on the day. 

As of last month, Kingsley Napley opted to close two and a half of its six floors on Fridays, with the in-house cafe open only until 2pm, offering a reduced menu.

The firm said the move is designed to show commitment to tflexible working and is also a pragmatic response to realise the environmental and financial benefits from fewer people being in.

Kingsley Napley’s agile working policy asks people to be in the office 40-60% of their time. It is not prescriptive on the number of days or which days per week they need to be present at the firm’s headquarters in Shoreditch.

Jemimah Cook HR director, said: ‘It makes total sense to reduce the number of floors we open on a Friday given the majority of our people prefer to work from home that day.

‘This new initiative is borne out of the flexibility we offer our people and is a win-win for the environment and our cost base at the same time. It has been extremely well received internally and the feedback is that it has benefitted those who do choose to come in on a Friday by helping them to collaborate and build relationships with new colleagues from different departments who wouldn’t normally sit or work together. We hope it inspires other firms and businesses to do the same.’

The firm estimates it will save around £100,000 a year on energy, cleaning and maintenance costs. 

The new office opened in summer 2021 and the layout is designed to be tailored to whether people are working solo or in teams, and to how many people are in the building. An internal consultation conducted in the spring found the majority of people were choosing to work from home on Fridays. 

Businesses in city centres have reported a noticeably reduced trade on Fridays since the pandemic as Thursday evenings become the main night for socialising.

Research by King’s College London from last year found that 61% of London workers were now hybrid working and the proportion working remotely at least one day a week had gone from 37% pre-pandemic to 75% post-lockdown.

Firms have responded in different ways to this challenge. The likes of Kingsley Napley and Wright Hassall have publicly supported hybrid working, but others have started to link bonus payments with being present in the office at least three days a week.

 

This article is now closed for comment.