Change is on the way for offices, but it won't be quick

Major workplaces are expected to adjust to post-pandemic life with less seats available in the office and the adoption of more remote working, according to an industry survey.

The JLL survey canvassed the views of 200 corporate real estate leaders across the Asia Pacific region on expectations for their organisation's property footprint and management of workspaces.

Among its conclusions, the survey found a push for de-densification, requiring office space to be re-configured to reduce the average number of seats per 100 staff to 82 from the pre-COVID-19 benchmark of 91.

As well, split team and multiple shift arrangements, combined with expanded remote working policies, will also help achieve some de-densification. Some 82 per cent of respondents intended to expand or initiate remote/work from home policies.

And while more than half of all occupiers anticipate no significant change to their portfolio, 43 per cent are considering splitting their workforces across flex sites and multiple offices.

As many as 40 per cent of major occupiers across the Asia Pacific region expect to decrease their total occupancy footprint in the medium to long term. Half expect no change.

In any case, property executives do not expect longer-term changes to come in a hurry: some 46 per cent believe that any rationalisation of space in response to the pandemic - either contraction or expansion - will take place steadily, rather than in an accelerated manner.

In Australia, that expectation for any rationalisation to be steady rises to 60 per cent.

"The mass work from home experiment in Australia was better than expected because there was no other choice, but it should not be interpreted as the next normal," said Stephen Conry, chief executive of JLL Australia.

"Working remotely for some people will continue to be part of staffing flexibility policies for many organisations, but a number of studies show the physical workplace and what it represents as a company hub is still a powerful reason why people want to get back to the workplace."

Mr Conry said work could become a hybrid arrangement of office space and various locations, the so-called hub and spoke model.

"While this might be an option considered by some, it is too early to jump to conclusions based solely on the extraordinary times we have been experiencing," he said.

The survey also found that, post-pandemic, some 70 per cent of employers intend to invest in remote technologies to support greater flexibility in work.