Desire For Flexibility Will Define the Post-Coronavirus Workplace

Before the coronavirus outbreak forced most office-based businesses to go remote, only 2.1% of the U.S. workforce teleworked 100% of the time, with 6% working at home between one and four days per week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Now, employers are seeing the benefits of incorporating more teleworking options into their company culture after confirming its success over the last three months, with some tech companies like Twitter and Square giving people the option to work from home permanently if they so desire.

But for most, the “new norm” will include a balance of working from both the office and from home. That’s exactly what Chicago-based commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield posited in its new Future of the Workplace report. Based on data gathered from 40,000 respondents, the firm believes that going forward, “50% of the workforce will likely be working across a ‘total workplace ecosystem’ balancing office, home and third places.”

Now more than ever, employees want the flexibility of choice in their work lives, especially as concerns over contracting the virus continue for the foreseeable future. According to the survey, 73% of the workforce believes their company should embrace some level of working from home.

Similar studies, including a national survey of office workers conducted on behalf of CBRE’s coworking subsidiary, Hana Inc., found 56% of survey respondents say they want the flexibility to choose between working at an office and a remote location or to exclusively work outside the office once the COVID-19 quarantine is over.

Other surveys are finding that many firms plan to embrace long-term or more frequent telework. Houston-based commercial real estate brokerage NAI Partners surveyed a sample in the past month of 50 of its top office clients and found that 57% said that while they prefer employees in the office, they recognize they may be required to implement long-term telework policies. Another 38% said they plan to allow some employees to telework regardless of external factors. Only 4.7% said they don't plan long-term telework because their teams work better in person, reported CoStar News.

While workers and employers alike recognize the benefits of telework and report their productivity is as high as ever, many still find value in the community the office provides, as it promotes collaboration, connection and company culture.

“While [teleworking] collaboration has become more effective, it is task-oriented collaboration and not the kind that creates opportunities for informal learning and mentoring,” said the Cushman & Wakefield report.

Many office workers value meaningful in-office connections such as random interactions with colleagues (38%); in-person meetings (33%); and in-person collaboration (33%); the Hana survey found.

And while high numbers of employees report feeling productive at home, only a little more than half of respondents in the Cushman & Wakefield survey reported feeling connected to their colleagues. Employers, therefore, will have to focus on making the office a place workers will want to come back to.

“The purpose of the office will be to provide inspiring destinations that strengthen cultural connection, learning, bonding with customers and colleagues, and foster creativity and innovation,” said the report.

The looming question for office tenants and owners is how the new shift toward increased remote work will impact space needs going forward. Prior to COVID-19, office density had been increasing.

“The long trend toward open floor plans and creative office space has led to crowding in the workplace," said Paul Leonard, managing consultant with CoStar Advisory Services in an article. "In the 1990s, the standard space allocated per worker was 250 square feet. But over the past 25 years, the space per office worker has been reduced by 17% to 214 square feet at the end of 2019."

It may be too early to tell how office square footage will be impacted as many workplaces haven’t yet reopened and companies are still working to find a new normal for their workflows, which will include figuring out the right balance of in-office and remote work.

Many firms will embrace teleworking for the time being to keep employees safe, as well as social distancing measures in the office and new schedules to bring employees back in shifts.

“If companies make no change in enabling flexible working, they could see footprint size increase by 15%-20% as a result of social distancing measures and new types of collaborative environments,” says Cushman & Wakefield.

Other firms agree that square footage will likely increase in the near future.

“People expect to return to a different workplace with more space per person, less desk sharing, and increased support for mobile and virtual work,” say architecture firm Gensler's global workplace director Janet Pogue and its economist Wes LeBlanc. “With new physical distancing guidelines, this will require more space per person for not only individual work settings, but circulation, meeting, and communal areas. Based on early studies, traditional layouts may require 25%-30% more space while dense benching layouts may require 50%-70% more space; however, strategies such as increased mobility, staggers, or shifts could help reduce real estate impact.”

When it comes to short-term office footprint changes, about 35% of survey respondents in the NAI Partners survey said they may need less office space; 33% said they are maintaining their current footprints; and 14% said they plan to move soon. Only 7% are looking for a long-term lease any time soon and 9% are planning to expand.

Some predictions fall in the middle, believing the need for more social distancing measures in person coupled with the increase in employees teleworking will balance out, in fact having virtually no impact on square footage at all.

“If 50% of respondents who indicated they would increase their flexible working followed through on this, there would be no net change in footprint,” says the Cushman & Wakefield report.

The office isn’t going anywhere, but a new desire for flexibility will urge employers to reevaluate their office environments and needs.

Read more of LoopNet's coverage of coronavirus here.

Paul Bergeron contributed reporting to this story.