There is no denying the COVID outbreak has redefined the way we work but it is interesting to note many workers, especially younger ones, don’t want to do away with the concept of coming to an office completely.
As reported by the BBC, Generation Z is the group most interested in a hybrid-type set up where they still go to the office a few days a week. Although this generation is highly digitally capable, they miss the social interactions and the opportunities to connect with career-developing mentors.
This is good news for anybody who leases commercial real estate but there is no denying changes will be needed to entice people back to their places of work.
Remaining relevant after COVID
Going to the office two or three days a week will almost become an exciting outing for many people once COVID outbreaks subside. It will feel like a novelty to get dressed, head to work and interact with people in person.
However, hygiene is still essential. Open stairwells and single-floor access are likely to become preferable to riding in elevators or climbing fire escapes. People will expect hygiene measures to be in place, including protective screens and hand sanitiser dispensers.
As shared by CBRE experts in a recent interview, the office will also become more about gathering to share ideas and collaborate, rather than providing desks for people to sit at all day every day.
With some businesses going under and vacant commercial spaces being cheaper for businesses to secure, commercial real estate must offer incentives for new occupants. Free rental periods, contract renegotiations and interior fit outs may be required to attract businesses back to commercial areas.
The ‘new’ office
Co-working has already been on the rise but as workers stop showing up five days a week, sharing spaces will make more sense. Instead of having whole offices to themselves, companies may consider leasing desks a few days a week, and booking co-working or conference facilities to meet with clients and catch up as a team.
Also on the rise is the ‘multi-purpose’ space, which can be used with desks during the day and then as a teaching or even yoga studio after dark.
There are predictions about the integration of working in more traditionally suburban areas. For example, shopping malls which have lost retail occupants due to COVID may find it works well to repurpose shops as offices. This gives workers the convenience of being near retail stores and potentially even facilities like a gym or medical practice on the days when they aren’t working from home.
An ongoing evolution
The office still has its place in our society and is in fact even more important in many ways as it gives people the opportunity to connect in person.
Two things are key for survival: flexibility and technology. Modern offices need good-sized screens so remote workers can join meetings and feel as though they are in the room with their peers. Technology must also address hygiene and personal safety on an ongoing basis. Cybersecurity can’t be ignored either, with workers increasingly logging into sensitive data from their own devices.
Technology extends to lunch breaks as well. Consider ‘Foodifox’, which is replacing the traditional food court by delivering $11 lunches to heated lockers located in office foyers. This innovation is capitalising on the fact workers look forward to a day away from the ‘sad desk lunches’ they have been enduring while locked down at home.
While the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday working model may be a thing of the past, there is potential for exciting new ways of thinking and solutions which will ensure commercial office space is always relevant to our society.
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