Christchurch leads the way in office-based working

Christchurch office workers now spend more than four days a week in the office, the highest average attendance of the three main centres, CBRE’s fourth annual Office Occupier Survey shows.

Christchurch also recorded the biggest rise in the average number of days a week staff spend in the office this year. Office workers in Christchurch now average 4.3 days a week, up from 3.8 in 2025. The 2025 level was already significantly higher than Auckland and Wellington have reached in 2026.

Nationally, average office attendance rose to 3.6 days a week, up from 3.4 last year - the biggest increase in three years. Auckland has the lowest attendance of the main centres at 3.2 days this year.

Mitchell Wallace, director of office leasing at CBRE, said Christchurch has a more office-centric culture than the other main centres, helped by several factors including generally high quality recently built stock, relatively easy commutes and shorter lockdowns during the pandemic.

"Much of our office stock is relatively new following the earthquake rebuild, providing high-performing, attractive, contemporary buildings with excellent amenities. Commuting into the CBD is also relatively easy, with less traffic congestion, good car parking and cycleways.

“These factors combined have meant Christchurch was already ahead of the other main centres on office attendance and this year the gap has widened further.”

The national figures also show a shift in hybrid working patterns, said Kirstin Cooper, associate director of workplace consulting at CBRE.

“Three days in the office is still the most popular hybrid work pattern nationally. However, there has been a move this year towards more people coming into the office full time. Five-day attendance has jumped from five per cent last year to 25 per cent in 2026.”

Higher attendance is putting more pressure on office space in Christchurch than in the other main centres. More than two in five Christchurch occupiers are now running at 80 to 100 per cent utilisation, which measures the proportion of workstations occupied during a typical work week.

Christchurch’s 42 per cent of occupiers in the top utilisation bracket compares with 31 per cent in Auckland and 19 per cent in Wellington. The national trend has also shown a steady increase in the number of organisations operating at 80 to 100 per cent utilisation since 2024.

In some cases, peak in-office days are starting to test workplace capacity, said Zoltan Moricz, head of research at CBRE.

“For occupiers approaching the top end of the utilisation curve, there is now greater urgency to make sure current desk allocations, breakout spaces, meeting rooms and amenities can accommodate intensifying demand on peak days.

“Christchurch workplaces have less headroom to absorb higher utilisation than those in Auckland and Wellington. We expect more occupiers here will need to start conversations about whether their current leased footprint is going to adequately accommodate their workforce in the coming years.”

The lift in office attendance and space utilisation reflects a greater move by executive leadership this year to enforce hybrid work policy, which includes expected time spent in the office as opposed to working from home.

Just over three quarters of organisations nationally now set hybrid working rules at an organisational level, up from 60 per cent in 2025. Actively enforced policies are the most common approach, used by 40 per cent of respondents.

Survey responses show those policies are set to firm up further. Looking ahead, only seven per cent of respondents expect to keep using non-enforced hybrid working guidelines, said Cooper.

“Organisations are taking the view that policies need to be actively enforced to make a difference to the time staff spend in the office, with a small but growing number moving towards linking office attendance to performance reviews and financial outcomes.”

Christchurch occupiers are also the most likely to be planning for growth. More than half plan to increase their office footprint over the next two to three years, up from 39 per cent in 2025. That compares with 21 per cent in Wellington and 18 per cent in Auckland planning expansion.