London companies are using innovative incentives to get their employees back into the office – including allowing workers to bring their dogs to work.

Other perks being offered to entice people to return include free artisan coffee and cookies, hair straighteners in bathrooms and being allowed to hang your own art in the office, according to  commercial law firm Hamlins.

Others offer running clubs with a coach, state of the art bike racks and discount deals for shops or restaurants in the office area.

John Leasure, real estate partner at Hamlins, said: “It used to be that the premium you would pay for an office would be the space you were receiving, but now the building and estate amenities that are being offered are equally important.

“Working from home or hybrid working is seen as one of the biggest benefits employees can have so getting workers back into the office is proving difficult. As a result, we are seeing a lot more effort being put into building facilities and estate amenities to try to entice staff to spend time at the office.

“One common theme being seen more frequently is employees allowing staff to bring their dogs into the office.

I’ve dealt with various management agreements or serviced office arrangements where the tenants are insisting dogs can come into the office,” John observed.

“This then starts a whole other field of discussion around which breeds are ’office friendly’, weight or size restrictions and detailed discussions surrounding dog-friendly routes through the building.

“There can often be wide ranging discussions around specific language regarding dogs in leases and service agreements for managed offices. There can be a reluctance to ‘ban’ specific breeds to avoid any potential unfair generalisation twinned with an awareness of dog owners often strong feelings about their pets and their temperaments.

“This means that size and weight limits are more often used as a means to control the type of dogs allowed, for example mandating small dogs only or no “medium/large” dogs, or a weight threshold, commonly 10kg and under, but sometimes as large as 25kg.”

Alongside these demands, there is a growing trend of businesses downsizing space but offering improved facilities.

John explains: “Employers are working hard to make the office a destination of choice, rather than just a place to work. In an effort to create a sense of community and belonging, we are seeing employers introducing running clubs to bake sales and Christmas markets.

“Offices are now being designed to become a hub for somebody’s day, rather than just a job in an office so people are more incentivised to come in.”