A worker-centric model set to be the key focus for office environments in 2021

SYDNEY, 09 April 2021 – An emphasis on physical and mental wellbeing will be the key to enticing staff back to the office, with 73 percent telling JLL they want improved wellbeing programs and 72 percent citing ‘advanced food services’ as another top priority.

JLL’s new report, Top 10 Commercial Real Estate Trends 2021 reveals the hybrid working model to be the number one trend for this year where 71 percent of the survey recorded employees opting for more flexible working arrangements and schedules between the office and working remote.

Humanising the workplace came in as the second top trend, where the survey found employees seeking a more worker-centric and agile working environment including creative spaces, learning and development spaces, co-working spaces, outdoor spaces, and privacy spaces.

Employee health and wellbeing was the third rated trend, noting robust health and wellness programs to be an imperative part of returning to the office. A combination of wellbeing services, advanced food services, health services and sports service were amongst the top requests of what employees would like access to when utilising the office.

JLL’s Head of Tenant Representation – Australia, Michael Greene said the pandemic had caused a quantum leap in hybrid working, with many staff pleased with the increased flexibility.

“We are now five or six years ahead of where we would have been,” Mr Greene said.

“We were on a journey to be more flexible with workdays well before the crisis. All the tools were there for people to do it. They just didn’t have to do it. Then COVID-19 happened. I think the CIOs had a few sleepless nights in the background, but for most of us the technology worked perfectly, and people who had more task-based roles found they could work more efficiently at home throughout the pandemic.”

“The great conundrum now is how to entice people back into the office versus how often they are going to use it. Many organisations are paying five days’ rent, yet peak capacity is only on three of those days. That is in a state of flux, and no one can know where it will land.”

According to the report, employees still see some good in the traditional model: 70% say the office is the best place to collaborate with colleagues, and to manage or be supported by your management.

Mr Greene said the “sleeping giant” in the remote-work shift was employers’ requirement to provide a safe working environment – something that cannot be guaranteed in a private home.

Top 10 Trends also pinpoints a ‘race to net zero’ among climate-conscious landlords, with many striving for six-star energy efficiency to reduce operating costs and impress prospective tenants. Buildings account for a third of global energy consumption and 40% of greenhouse gas emissions.

The pandemic has spurred investment in innovation, with 59% of executives citing the digital transformation of their organisations, and 68% keen to strike innovation partnerships.

Amid high vacancies in most capital cities and falling net effective across all markets, Mr Greene predicted landlords will endure short-term financial pain until employees start to lose a sense of belonging and the connections they make beyond their immediate teams.

“The longer people do not come into the office, the sooner that horizontal connection will start to break down. You feel you don’t know most of your colleagues; you have never met them,” Mr Greene said.

“Once that connection breaks down, that is when office life will swing back, though not to where it was before.”