Returning to the office, changes in work models and space optimisation continue to be among the hottest topics that both employees and employers are talking about. The massive return of workers to the office proved to be an even greater challenge than many expected. Moreover, the requirements and needs of companies are rapidly evolving over time. The CBRE real estate/consulting company’s survey among nearly 140 companies across Europe, including the Czech Republic, reveals ten demanding tasks and challenges that are currently affecting the strategic decision-making of companies and their future expectations to a significant extent. At the same time, it shines light on the current trends.
1. The return of people to the office is still relatively low following the pandemic
Roughly half the companies surveyed said that the return to the office is at 40% of what was previously “normal” or even lower. 56% of the companies consider this to be more or less stable, the rest expect this share to increase or are working towards that end. Two-thirds of the companies plan to achieve this in the next 12 months, while the remaining third has a longer timeframe.
“Companies still consider the office a key benefit for their employees, and therefore seek to strike a balance between providing support and formulating obligations to get their consent to returning to the office. Good mutual communication is absolutely essential in this respect. I strongly recommend conducting a survey among the employees and finding out their expectations, providing training to executives and then clearly communicating the benefits of a personal presence at the workplace,” said Simon Orr, Director Advisory & Transactions – Offices in CBRE.
2. Companies are gradually determining their requirements for the re-introduction of presence
Two-thirds of the companies currently have a defined requirement for the personal participation of employees in the workplace, while 41% of the employers require presence for more than half the working week. This is a significant change from last year, when only about 40% of companies required a certain level of personal presence. However, the enforcement of these directives remains in question: only 10% of companies say they are consistently enforcing them. At the same time, there are still a fifth of the companies that support work from the office, but they do not set a proportional part of it and leave decisions purely up to the people.
3. The hybrid model of work is on the rise, companies are looking for balance
A total of 46% of companies already have some form of policy on how employees should come to the office. Roughly half the businesses prefer employees to distribute their time equally between working in the office and working from home. Less than 40% want them to spend three or more days a week in person at the workplace. And only 11% of the companies do not mind that most of the work is done remotely. “We see a certain discrepancy between the requirements of companies and employees. But if you give people a certain degree of flexibility, they are twice as likely to recommend you as an employer and two and a half times more likely to indicate that they are happy at work,” explained Filip Muška, Workplace Strategies Lead in CBRE.
4. Companies are going even further: they are considering significant innovations in the arrangement and organisation of work
The survey also showed that companies are willing to think about even more fundamental changes. Schedule rotations, flexible working hours, time-limited remote work and fully remote work are in their sights. “Overall, the most popular option among companies is the presence of people in the workplace according to a predetermined rotation plan. It is preferred by 52% of the respondents, from which it helps to strengthen cooperation and team culture for longer than 2-3 days a week. This system resolves the problem of the uneven presence of different team members during the working week by supporting attendance at the office in longer blocks of time. However, the situation differs in the various regions: in Central and Eastern Europe, which includes the Czech Republic, this trend is currently being tested, which was confirmed by a total of 35% of companies,” commented Filip Muška.
5. Companies are optimising. They are reducing expenses for office space while improving their quality
There are a number of global changes currently taking place. Companies do not have the certainty of what the demand for their goods or services will look like in the near future, and at the same time what changes in the method of organising work could still occur. For this reason, many companies are trying to improve their efficiency and reduce the cost of existing assets by consolidating their portfolio. Nearly 60% of the companies participating in the survey have reduced their office space by about 10 to 30% over the past three years, although only 45% of the companies considered this move last year. In the Czech Republic and the CEE region, it has only been 42% of the companies, but in the next three years the Czech Republic should see a similar trend “On the other hand, with austerity measures, there is an increased emphasis on the quality of the spaces that remain in the portfolio of companies. These must better suit new working procedures while offering a pleasant environment with an emphasis on ergonomics, i.e., the physical and mental needs of employees. 45% of companies have confirmed they are moving at least some departments to more suitable premises and another 23% are considering such an option,” stated Muška.
