DUBLIN (Reuters) - Offices in Dublin are on average only 10% full on Mondays and Fridays as employees continue to adopt a hybrid working model a year after Ireland's last COVID-19 lockdown, a survey of 500 companies in the capital showed.
Hybrid arrangements, where employees go in part of the week, are reshaping businesses that serve office workers across the world, with knock-on effects for commercial real estate demand and service firms reliant on city centre footfall.
The Irish research published by property agency Savills (LON:SVS) and the Dublin Chamber commerce body on Wednesday suggested offices in the main business district have an average occupancy rate of 0%-10% on Mondays and Fridays.
Occupancy rises to between 51%-60% on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and to 61%-70% on Wednesdays. Almost half of the firms surveyed said employees must spend at least two or three days in the office each week.
Despite the lower occupancy - which compared to a week-long rate of 91%-100% pre-pandemic - three quarters of the firms said they have not changed their office footprint, while 17% have decreased it and 7% added more space.
Separate research from real estate group CBRE on Tuesday showed that total office space bought or let last year was 2.5% below the 10-year annual average, leaving a vacancy rate of 11% or 14% including so-called "grey space", where larger tenants are seeking to sublet parts of their offices.