A new study conducted by the University of Sheffield has discovered that the move towards working from home has moved businesses to more suburban areas, with city centres set to suffer financially in the upcoming year.

It was identified that British workers will be continuing to work from home 20 percent more than they were before the pandemic started, as people will be working roughly one day a week more at home than since the 2020 lockdowns were announced.

The study attributed the recent shift towards working from home as a result of the pandemic, which has dramatically impacted the way British people have administered their day to day work.

The City of London has seen a 31.6 percent decrease in spending and a 32 percent decrease in employment.

The places most greatly affected by this new change outside of London have been the city centres such as in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

However, many suburbs of Sheffield have greatly benefitted from people working from home, as more people had to stay put in their local areas.

Neighbourhoods such as High Green & Burncross, Walkley and Mosborough & Halfway have seen an average increase of 15.6 percent in spending and 50.2 percent increase between the suburbs in employment change.

Dr Jesse Matheson, author of the paper published by the University of Sheffield’s Department of Economics, said: “We estimate that about £3 billion in annual spending will leave city centres as a result of working from home.

“This decrease will be concentrated in a few very dense centres.

“Some of this spending will be realised in the residential areas where these workers live, but some may be lost altogether. As suburban neighbourhoods lack the density of city centres, many retail and hospitality businesses will find it is not profitable to relocate.

“Workers in retail and hospitality may also find that demand has shifted to locations to which commuting is too difficult, which means that supply may not be able to keep up with demand.”