The financial district of the British capital, "City of London", has always been the pride of the capital and the pride of the United Kingdom, as it is the largest financial center in the world, and which includes among its streets that preserve its antique character the largest global financial institutions.
The neighborhood has remained a shrine to all businessmen from different regions of the world, as well as tourists who take pictures of the memory in this region, which expresses the long tradition of British life.
But this neighborhood soon turned into a ghost town, as it was devoid of that relentless movement that was launched with the early morning hours, and did not calm down except in late hours at night, since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, most institutions have chosen that have giant and huge offices in the Financial District Adoption of the home business style.
After months of bitter lockdown, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's explicit request for workers to return to the offices, there was a surprise that many did not expect.
The surprise was that most companies and financial and banking institutions preferred to work remotely and not return to offices, which made the financial district streets empty of their thrones except for pedestrians, or visitors who took advantage of the emptiness of the area to enjoy its ancient buildings.
A study by Morgan Stanley showed that only 34% of workers returned to their offices, despite the government lifting all restrictions on returning to offices, and the percentage recorded in the capital, London, is the lowest in Europe. In Germany, a return to offices was recorded at 83%. In France, the percentage reached 70%.
And the same study adds that about 50% of workers in the financial district in London never visit their offices and attend completely from home, while this percentage drops to between 20 and 33% in the financial districts of Paris and Frankfurt.
Harry Kevin - a financial analyst at the London Stock Exchange - during his interview with Al Jazeera Net, justifies the lack of enthusiasm of workers to return to the offices with two workers, the first is related to workers, who are still not sure of the safety of using the subway, as it is almost the only way to reach the financial district, and the second factor It is related to employers, who recorded a rise in employee productivity during the shutdown and telework phase.
And the British expert indicates that this matter encouraged the managers of large companies to continue the same pattern, especially since office expenses in the Financial District are equal to huge fortunes.
The offices are from the past
The British government does not look with satisfaction at the non-return of workers to their offices, especially in the city center, which is its beating heart, and for this reason, the British Prime Minister stressed more than once that his government believes that returning to the office is safe while adhering to the procedures of separation, calling on workers to "show confidence and return to the offices."
An invitation that found no listening ears, a tour between the streets surrounding the London Stock Exchange, which is located in the heart of the financial district, shows that life will not return to this area as it was, which is what raises controversy among senior managers of British financial institutions, while James Stanley, director of Barclays Bank “Angered at the failure of employees to return to the offices, NatWest announced that 50,000 of its employees will be working from home until at least next year.
The unprecedented situation in which the Financial District lives, prompted the director of Barclays to change his stance on working from home, asserting that "offices have become a thing of the past" and calling for workers to return without being compulsory to attend.
"Watching the empty streets arouses sadness," Lisa, a receptionist at the London Stock Exchange gate, said, stressing that the Financial District had lost its hype. "It was expected during the national lockdown period, but we expected life to gradually return here, which has not happened so far, unfortunately."
The employee at the London Stock Exchange pointed out that this situation killed the economic movement in the entire region, and that there were many shops that closed their doors, because they were heavily dependent on their trade on the employees of the financial district.
The end of the golden age
The Financial District is considered a miniature city, in which many commercial activities are concentrated, which mainly depend on visitors to the neighborhood, including employees, investors and businessmen. For this reason, fast food restaurants, luxury restaurants and cafes are widely spread along the city streets, and usually it was a complicated reservation in These cafes require a long wait, but all dining and entertainment facilities have lost their customers.
And the famous "Pret A Manger" chain of restaurants announced a decrease in its income by 85%, which prompted it to announce a plan to lay off hundreds of workers, and the sign "closed until further notice" now covers the gates of many fashion and perfume stores. in the neighborhood.
"The restaurant income has decreased by 85% compared to this same period last year, but it seems that the golden age will not return due to Corona," says Jerry, a restaurant operator adjacent to the "Bank" station located in the heart of the financial center.
Jerry added in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that "the losses are estimated at about two thousand dollars a day," expressing his fear that the owner of the restaurant will resort to closing it, given the high costs of running a store in that high-end area.
It is expected that the British government will resort to new measures to encourage employees to return to their offices, especially after the London transport company recorded a significant decline in its income.
The company obtained a loan of two billion pounds from the government to cover its losses during the closure phase, and decided to raise ticket prices, however, the demand for the subway is still registering negative figures, with an operating rate of 24% of its capacity.