80% of occupiers prioritise physical offices

CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, India’s leading real estate consulting firm, today announced the findings of its ‘India Future of Office Survey 2021’- conducted between September and November this year. CBRE reached out to close to 100 occupiers, with a combined employee base of over 100,000 in India. This included both global and domestic corporates from key sectors including technology, BFSI, engineering & manufacturing, infrastructure, real estate & logistics, research, consulting & analytics, and pharmaceuticals/healthcare.

The survey observed that with the importance of physical offices intact, the need for workplace flexibility and safety would drive new behaviours across occupiers, developers, and investors. Senior business leaders have expressed a strong desire to bring employees back to the office with about 80% of them prioritising physical offices; but several of them are also willing to offer a greater degree of flexibility and choice. The survey highlighted that about 58% of respondents in India plan to implement policies allowing office-based working with the option of working from home. Post the second wave, occupiers are striving to encourage employees to come back to offices with their safety and well-being at the forefront of their ‘return to work’ plans. The survey highlighted three areas that require tech enhancement to facilitate return to work – admin, FM services and amenities, along with space tracking.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE said, “In CBRE’s view, despite an increased adoption of hybrid working during the pandemic, a wider adoption in the long-run seems unlikely. Even with the adoption of hybrid work, most companies expect employees to work in the office most of the time. This new shift in working patterns should be considered amidst occupiers’ intent to expand portfolios in India over the next two years. We thus believe the adoption of hybrid working practises would have only a limited downside impact on future office demand in the medium to long term, particularly as space planning is undertaken based on long-term peak occupancy rates.” Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Advisory & Transactions Services, CBRE India said, “The current pandemic is accelerating changes in performance, expectations and role of the workplace. Successful and targeted strategies can envision a practically implementable ‘Future of Work Concept’, effectively leveraging potential changes in work styles and corresponding opportunities to rebalance the workplace.

Majority of the respondents were clear on the importance of the physical office across our India, APAC, and larger global markets. While the relevance of physical space is here to stay, the focus of business must be on the evolving purpose of office spaces.” It is clear that despite so much focus on hybrid work during the pandemic, future real estate strategies would not favour a fully remote or in-office workforce. Rather, strategies are expected to support choices, end-user experiences and actions that allow employees to integrate life and work.

“The nature of the workplace has completely evolved over the past two years. The adoption of hybrid work is likely to require companies to enhance their workplace strategies to deliver seamless and engaging experiences. The successful adoption of hybrid work within a company would require defining where work can be accomplished, what work requires in-person collaboration to accomplish and who benefits most from spending time in the office.”, added Ram Chandnani. Another key CRE area identified by the survey is the growing importance of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Nearly 60% of respondents to CBRE’s 2021 Global Investor Intentions Survey Report stated they have already adopted ESG criteria as part of their investment strategies.