Office workers will spend nearly a third of their waking hours in the office environment in their working lifetime. So, it's incredibly important our workplaces are effective, engaging and cater to our employee's needs. And with local government facing a persistent recruitment and retention crisis, the quality of our offices can play a key role in competition with the private sector and other public bodies for talent.

 However, working environments have undergone a paradigm change over the last four years; catalysed by the COVID pandemic, the shift to flexible and remote working is a transformation in employment patterns akin to the introduction of computers. Prior to the pandemic, just 4.7% of employees worked from home – by 2022, a quarter of UK employees worked from home at least some of the time, and 13% all of the time (Forbes). Alongside all employers, councils have been navigating the correct balance to set for their staff between home and office working.