Hybrid office location - city centre, or out of town?

[blutterfly]

You work in consulting. Most of your job is on email/teams calls but your company want you in the office 1-2 days a week to build team relationships and to host client meetings, do interviews, collaborate etc. Rest of the week you can work anywhere.

Would you rather

A - an office that had parking, easy road/bus access, but not good rail connections and no local shops/cafes/sandwiches (BYO lunch)

B - an office in busy city centre and all its amenities, good rail and bus connections but limited parking and hideous traffic

C - a rural out of town office with no rail connections but ample parking, outdoor space, away from hustle of city but no shops/cafes within 2 miles (BYO lunch)

Am about to launch a new office and struggling with where to locate it. I figure if we are hoping to encourage people in 2 days they might want a ‘destination’ eg shops and cafes nearby, but does that outweigh transport ease?

Whichever is nearest to me

Actually my organisation is currently moving a large number of staff from the city centre location to a new rural location 3 miles away. No shops and no public transport. People are kicking off big time.

I suspect most live in the city. I’m not being moved but live halfway between the two and wouldn’t be that bothered if I was moved.

Well B is more sustainable in that it will encourage people out of their cars.

C sounds lovely but I think public transport should be more of a consideration.

It completely depends on your staff. As a working parent I absolutely wouldn't work city centre, it would be a deal breaker for me.

Younger staff might embrace the opportunities for lunch, after work drinks etc.

Just be careful though as you'll likely piss off a % of your workforce whichever you choose, and it's a job hunters market at the moment.

I'd probably start your core hours at 10 if you're looking to ensure that people can do the school drop off. For me it would definitely be B. Our office moved out of the city centre and it meant all the benefits of going in (popping to boots, after work drinks, variety of lunch options) just went.

I don't drive so no public transport wouldn't work for me. If there was public transport but not a city centre location it would be good if there was some sort of perk - one of our remote offices had a small gym for instance.

I would personally prefer option B, firstly because I don't drive and secondly because even with hybrid working I think it's important to get out of the office for a bit over lunch. It might depend on whether A and C have a decent canteen so people could at least remove themselves from their desk, have a change of scenery and maybe socialise a bit? I've worked in office locations where it's literally just BYO lunch and eat at the desk or go to a burger van or similar and eat at your desk and it's quite depressing, even if it is only a couple of days a week.

Where in the country are you OP? If you are in Greater London you can find options that cover all of that. Places with good rail connections that have parking and a bit of a shopping area.

A or C. B is HELL ON EARTH

I think a really key thing is how many people would actually use public transport if you went with B. If it's not many, then the main advantage instantly goes.

I work at an A, but because people drive they can still "pop out" to do things in their lunch break or simply take a short lunch break enabling them to finish early (and many value that over the "popping out" aspect). The pubs/restaurants aspects is only relevant if you have a workforce that might embrace the "socialising after work" aspect. If you've got people rushing home to families, it's not so much of a benefit.

I’m someone with a young kid and I’d like B as it means I can run to boots/card factory/M&S etc in my lunch break.

As a working parent, I could not do C and A would be a pain in the bum.

I currently do B.

Same!

B and contact NCP to set up business parking. That's what I did and we get £4 a day parking for staff.

Clients are likely to want to travel in by train and if you have any non drivers working for you then you need to ensure they can access work. Also if you have any requirements to do Environmental reporting or set ESG objectives then ample public transport and short travel distances are good for your report.

Thanks for all the replies and perspectives, what is clear to me is that there isn’t really a one size fits all, although most are suggesting B or A predominantly.

Your comments have really helped me hone my criteria, so I’m now thinking:

1. needs to be near train station for clients and staff alike
2. Needs to have parking nearby, discounted if we can, but if not just having some would be handy (again it’s not London or even Birmingham/Manchester/Bristol etc, many people here are still in cars)
3. Some shops/banks/post offices/sandwich places nearby good
4. Park nearby or somewhere to go for a lunchtime walk/change of scenery
5. Core hours to help with commuting times

Again, am only needing staff in 1-2 days a week (I’d probably be 3 or 4). DH thinks that if people were only doing 1-2 days they might put up with a city commute to be able to have the perks of the city on those days but then revert to wfh the rest of the week.

Definitely B. I probably wouldn’t go in otherwise.

I’d also prefer to work somewhere that prioritises those who use public transport. Please also consider facilities to enable active commuting like showers, lockers, and bike storage

My DD lives in a city that is anti-car; it is horrendous to get into the city centre. When she goes shopping she usually goes to the out-of-town retail park instead. Their town centre M&S has closed (they have a shop in the retail park) and DD says the High Street is becoming a ghost town.
If cities continue to be anti-car but with no alternative (rubbish transport) then they are going to lose their pull.

Is there a D: near facilities but not too busy. For example a large town (rather than a city) or a hub near a Parkway station.

B by an absolute country mile.

B. A million times B.

B because I use public transport because I don't own a car.

A or C. Fuck the congested city centres they’re hell.

B

I have turned down job offers at A /C locations that expect me to drive. I'm more of a public transport option and I believe that option must always be on the table even if you choose to drive.

I suspect there's an age bias to this.

Younger generations (including those who are parents) are less likely to want to drive everywhere.

Older generations were brought up to see cars as aspirational status symbols.

Times they are a changing

Parking trumps everything for me. We have a city centre office but we can charge he company for parking in the multistorey car parks. I BYO my lunch to save money anyway.

B, without a shadow of a doubt. Not everybody drives or wants to, and an office in a city centre feels like a destination rather than a prison to me.