Bank and tech firm CEOs have set alarm bells ringing across the real estate community with headline-grabbing comments about the possibility of downsizing their offices should working from home become the post-pandemic norm.
We’ve been here before.
The advent of the internet had people pondering if the traditional office was extinct. Then experiments like ‘hot desking’ and various remote-work schemes were later quietly shelved or scaled back. Turns out that humans are social creatures, and the office is critical not only to collaboration and results, but also in attracting talent.
What will the workplace – and the market for office real estate – look like in the years ahead?
The most likely outcome will be nuanced and shaped by the pandemic’s influence on a host of trends that began playing out in the wake of the global financial crisis a dozen years ago: Workplace densities increased as tenants sought more efficient corporate real estate solutions. They favoured offices in well-connected, urban locations, and also demanded flexible space. More recently, sustainability, wellbeing and collaborative and community workspace have become central to many companies’ recruitment and retention strategies.