Hybrid working is more popular with companies than ever, posing an even greater challenge to owners and developers of offices, according to a new survey from workplace experience consultancy Leesman.

The firm’s The State of the Estate: Insights from the Top report surveyed more than 100 leaders from across financial services, technology and professional services companies on
workplace strategy.

Some 96% of respondents said their organisations had adopted a hybrid model – this figure has increased each year from the 85% first recorded in 2021 – and only 4% said their company had a fully office-based model.

Office downsizing continues, with two-thirds of respondents expecting their real estate portfolio will reduce.

Leesman development director Kyle de Bruin believes the survey holds valuable lessons for landlords and property developers trying to get to grips with changing demand for their assets.

“They’re coming into the conversation way more than they ever have,” de Bruin told EG.
“Somewhat reluctantly in some cases, but they’re realising leases are shortening, the demand for space is changing, occupiers want more flexibility and they don’t want to be tied into long-term leases on the whole. There’s a collaboration between developers,
landlords, operators and occupiers.”

The survey points to an uncertain future for flex – just 15% of respondents said their employees use space such as co-working or flexible offices, a figure that has decreased year by year since 28% in 2021.

Leesman said that although such spaces can benefit organisations with a distributed workforce and whose employees can’t commute regularly to the same office, “they don’t necessarily bring colleagues together at the same time, which is a key reason to go to the office in the first place”.

De Bruin added: “With the amount of space that’s going to be [back on the market], and is currently sitting dormant in some cases, as landlords are they going to have to start repurposing that space and putting it on the market in different ways? It’s a huge megatrend across big cities.”

You can find the EG article here