FMJ.CO.UK INTERVIEW FOCUS
JULY 2021 43
FUTURE OF THE OFFICE
The big question of the moment is the
future of the o ice, which from the CRE
perspective Caskey explains is di icult to
predict because corporate business models
and the economic future is now much more
volatile.
“Many corporate occupiers have huge
owned assets, and therefore can explore
the opportunity to monetise those assets,
through a sale and leaseback (i.e. leasing
back the space a– er the sale). Corporate
real estate sales has been a trend over the
past 10 years and 2020 reached a peak of
€27 billion, as it is a way that corporates can
monetise the values of their asset portfolios
in a way that enables capital raised to
be reinvested to support post-pandemic
recovery and growth strategies.”
Longer term he adds, “it is di icult to
predict how much space will be needed.
With today’s focus on experience, agility
and flexibility, the future of real estate will
continue to be defined by flexible space and
a flexible component will take up more of a
corporate occupier’s portfolio in the future.
We predict that 30 per cent of all o ice space
will be flexible in some way by 2030.”
“The latest trend is around lease lengths.
We’re seeing in some of the secondary
markets the requirement to have more
flexibility with shorter lease terms and
options for expansion/retraction coming
into the lease negotiations.”
The question that companies are facing at
the moment is on how much space they will
actually need in the future.
“Pre-COVID that was 1.2 days per week
on average but now we’re seeing it as being
two days a week on average. Our latest
research shows that 63 per cent of the
workforce want to keep the possibility to
alternate between di erent places of work
in the future.
“The reality is companies have a lot to
consider when assessing if their real estate
portfolio is suitable for their changing
needs. The question of how much space
their businesses require has become a
complex, multi-layered question which
many corporates are still grappling with.
But real estate occupancy will remain
in line with pre-pandemic levels, with
usage adapting to changes such as
decreased density and increased space for
collaboration and socialisation.”
Caskey also believes that flexible working
will go beyond working from home to
working from anywhere, as alongside a
mix of home and head o ices, companies
are considering the hub and spoke concept
to give sta the alternative of working
nearer home, rather than commuting long
distances.
“The interesting choice for CRE will be
whether they go to a flex operator or
choose their own leased property? It
depends on how much space they’d
require, and whether they have the option
of dedicated spaces within business
centres.”
CULTURAL NEEDS
We all saw the headlines over the past
year, when some of the big corporates
announced plans to scale back their real
estate, but according to Caskey, that
stance has dramatically so– ened
as we’ve gone through the
pandemic.
“Most have reflected
that the o ice is a core
part of their business
model and a way of
bringing the culture
of an organisation
to life. Attitudes
have shi– ed from
an initial view,
when some clients
were talking about
reducing space by
50/60 per cent at the start
of the pandemic to realising
the o ice is a critical part of
their business models and plans for
the future.”
Compared to surveys JLL carried out
in Q3 and Q4 last year(ii), they’re now
finding that approximately 80 per cent of
employees want to be back in the o ice at
least once as part of their working week.
Sevent-five per cent of workers miss the
o ice, with productivity at home declining,
37 per cent of the workforce feel more
productive at home than in the o ice today,
compared with 48 per cent in April 2020. As
a result, JLL is seeing an increasing demand
from clients to have hybrid working as part
of their business models.
Says Caskey: “Companies are also thinking
about making the re-entry back into the
workplace a memorable experience and
asking ‘how can it be di erent?’ If we listen
to those people who want to come back into
the o ice there’s going to be a proportion
of them who are going to require desking
facilities. Others are going to come into the
o ice for knowledge points, sharing and
engaging with their peers; all of which
is incredibly di icult to do for a
sustained period when not being in
a physical environment such as
the o ice.
“A year a– er the start of
COVID-19, some signals of
homeworking fatigue stand
out. We are also seeing
a deterioration around
productivity, with more
concerns around health and
wellbeing. These factors are
very much top of the mind now
and it’s a C suite conversation.
Compared to surveys -//
carried out in Q3 and Q4 last
year, theyƉre now fi nding that
approximately per cent of
employees want to Ee EacN in the
oƝ ce at least once as part of
A lot of that comes back to the
importance of the o ice for their brand,
their culture and ultimately the health and
wellness of their employees.”
DESIGN AND TECH CHANGE
According to Caskey, changing work
patterns will inevitably influence the design
of the workplace, most notably, while
desking accounted for 60 to 70 per cent of
space pre-COVID, that’s gone into reverse,
their worNing weeN.ƌ