Feature
Office Space Post-Lockdown
The pandemic affected the work-life balance of millions of people due to the Government’s lockdown, requiring us to work from home for many months. Whilst tricky for some, others realised that they were capable of doing their jobs from home, with no need to commute to and from an office every day, raising the question of the role of office spaces going forward. Going forward will it be business as usual, or will our work lives be entirely different?
Private Bank Arbuthnot Latham sat down with their real estate banking team, Savills and Allsop to discuss their views on the future of office space.
What trends are you seeing from businesses regarding the way spaces in their buildings are being utilised, and do you believe these trends are here to stay?
Mat Oakley, Director European Commercial Research, Savills
“It may be a little too early to see a definitive direction for where the office space is headed. Feedback from tenants is that they have no idea about what’s ultimately going to happen.
“The businesses occupying these office spaces have conducted many surveys since the Government’s lockdown, asking their staff how they would like to work post-lockdown. Most staff respond with a preference to work with a more flexible working arrangement.
“We’ve seen some prevailing actions adopted, such as social distance proofing the office, making home-based workforces effective and some sector-based emerging trends.
“Starting with the latter, industries that were already under cost pressure prior to the pandemic, most notably, retail and investment banks, are actively reducing their office spaces. I’m sure we’ve all seen in the news big financial firms expediate their relocation plans; however, we’ve also seen management call for a ‘back to normal’ work office lifestyle.
“Large businesses that have capital to spare are taking the opportunity to reconfigure floors, experimenting with different
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spaces; desks on one, social areas on another. This is expensive to implement, which is why it’s only being done by businesses that have the money to do it freely.
“We have seen strings of CEOs make statements about adopting a flexible working environment or wanting staff back in the office full time. The problem is everything is theoretical. Paternalistic employers should be listening to employees. There’s a gap between giving employees what they want and running a business effectively. With heightened interest in wellness over the past years, it’s a very difficult tightrope for businesses to tread to say, ‘I hear what you want but that doesn’t match up to what we want.”
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