Employers tackle Tuesday and Thursday office peaks

Tuesday and Thursday remain the most popular days to work from an office across the Netherlands. This pattern leaves desks empty on other days, creating high heating and power costs for businesses alongside heavier peak-time traffic.

Data from the Center For People And Buildings shows that 65% of office employees go to the office on Tuesdays, and 63% on Thursdays. In contrast, only 19% work from an office on Fridays.

Knowledge workers now spend roughly half their working hours at home and around 38% at the office. Experts refer to the Tuesday and Thursday attendance spikes as the camel problem, because the two surges resemble the humps of a camel.

Strain on roads and rail networks

The crowding extends well beyond office walls. Motoring organisation ANWB found that Tuesday and Thursday morning peak hours accounted for 58% of all morning traffic jam severity in the first half of 2026.

On the railways, Friday morning peak travel is about 45% quieter than Tuesday or Thursday mornings. National rail operator NS noted that while rush-hour trains on peak days run packed, average train occupancy across the entire day is only 30%.

NS has expanded its PrijsTijd Deals to offer cheaper tickets for journeys taken just outside peak hours. The railway operator has also moved its own executive board meetings to Wednesdays and asked office staff to avoid peak travel times.

Shifting attendance across the week

The national government has begun an initiative called Kamelenjacht to flatten the mid-week peaks. Researchers involved in the project suggest measures such as public transport allowances for off-peak days and internal team agreements.

In Amsterdam, wealth management firm Van Lanschot Kempen began rebalancing attendance earlier this year because its office is too small for its 1,100 employees. The firm moved executive meetings away from peak days and asked departments to spread their in-person hours.

The company reports that desk occupancy is now stable from Monday to Thursday, filling meeting rooms on Wednesdays that previously sat empty, though Friday attendance still lags behind the rest of the week.

Source: NOS