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The success of the vaccine rollout has sent architects鈥� workload expectations soaring to their highest level since early 2020, according to the latest RIBA Future Trends survey.

Workload expectations jumped by 14 points last month to +17, with nearly a third of practices expecting workloads to grow in the next three months and the number of practices expecting them to decrease falling to 16% from 25% in January.

The troubled commercial sector staged a dramatic recovery, leaping 16 points ahead to -2, while private housing surged by 20 points to +29 with nearly 40% of practices expecting workloads to grow in the housing sector.

The public sector also rose by two points to -1, while the community sector saw a marked improvement, rising by nine points to -6.

RIBA head of economic research and analysis Adrian Malleson said the figures represent a 鈥渢urning point鈥� and added: 鈥淎s the route out of the pandemic becomes clearer, not least due to the rollout of the vaccination programme, February鈥檚 figures demonstrate a turning point 鈥� practices are starting to feel more optimistic about the future.鈥�

But he cautioned that the increasing confidence is partly dependent on a housing boom fuelled by homeowners relocating or adjusting their homes to accommodate home working, warning that 鈥渜uestion marks remain over the sustainability of this trend鈥�.

Despite a burst of confidence for workloads, February saw a mixed picture for staffing expectations.

While 83% of practices said they expected permanent staffing levels to stay the same over the next three months, London remained the most pessimistic region with a staffing balance figure of -8, down four points on January.

And the south of England is also cautious about recruitment, posting a balance of 0.

But the outlook is far more positive outside of the South East, with the Midlands and East Anglia returning a balance of +6, the North of England +10 and Wales and the West at +21.

February鈥檚 survey also found that there was no appetite to return to pre-pandemic ways of working even when lockdown restrictions are relaxed and staff are allowed to return to the office.

Malleson said: 鈥淲hilst the data suggests there is not currently a significant appetite to return to pre-pandemic work patterns, we also know that homeworking continues to create productivity challenges, not least because childcare and home-schooling have been impacting the working day.

鈥淐ommentary received from our respondents indicates that this is disproportionately impacting women.鈥�

Only 13% of practices said they expect to ask all staff to return to the office, with a quarter expecting a blend of office and home-based work, a fifth intending to leave the choice up to staff, and two fifths saying that they will carry on working as they are now.