Many organisations already recognized that the role of the office workplace was changing before COVID-19.
Prior to COVID-19, many organizations conducted space utilisation and observations studies to identify how/where space was being used. In work conducted for Avison Young’s clients, we found that the pre-pandemic workspace was utilised on average 60% of the time. This means that organisations experienced an overall 40% office vacancy – which means valuable resources (i.e. funds spent on vacant office space) could be better redeployed to help meet core business requirements. We are currently seeing 5-10% space utilization during the pandemic, as the inevitable result of social distancing in the workplace, fears of contagion on public transport and the self-fulfilling consequent low levels of office attendance.
This will of course change once the spread and impact of COVID-19 turns and local and national measures to prevent the spread of the disease are relaxed. However, our research shows that the mass home-working experience brought about by the pandemic has accelerated and consolidated the trend towards agile and remote working.
COVID-19 is a call to radically shake-up the thinking of workplaces and office building design. The tools at business’ disposal should be enablers of organisational change and a vital instrument in the war for talent. After all, people matter and “business as usual” is a concept quickly aging out. At its core, workplace provides people with a physical place to connect, collaborate and engage with others. Now more than ever, companies who invest in the human experience, and create meaningful spaces built for high-performance workforces with digital skills and experiences, can see a four times increase in profitability.
How workplace trends are accelerating
Companies that invest in the human experience can see a 4X profitability increase. The workplace’s power lies in the vast mix of people, culture and ideas that require proximity to flourish.
