“Employers have realized that employees want access to amenities, i.e., a fitness center with showers, bike storage, standing desk options and relaxation areas,” Stricklen tells GlobeSt.com. “They have come to recognize that a healthy employee has a higher productivity level and that if they do not deliver these amenities to their employee base, their competitors will.”

The survey finds that 59% say they plan to enhance the employee experience through the introduction of mobile apps that help them to navigate the workplace and foster collaboration.

“The modern workplace is in a state of transition as workplace design standards have evolved from traditional layouts with a mix of enclosed and open workspaces. Flexibility over the life of a lease is one advantage to unassigned seating, as moves, adds and changes become significantly easier,” said Julie Whelan, Americas head of occupier research, CBRE. “Managing employees through this change is critical, so that the initiative is viewed as being additive to productivity and wellness instead of a pure cost-cutting measure.”

Other priorities for executives in 2018 include preparing for the future workforce and the future corporate real estate team. While design is an integral component of a workplace of choice, supporting employees' personal lives at work through ease and convenience is part of the transformative role that real estate is expected to play. Among the most important employee offerings, companies indicated in addition to amenities and flexible work structure, access to public transportation (39%) was integral to creating a sought-after experience.

“Increasingly we are seeing occupiers adopt a service-driven approach to amenities, testing offerings like hospitality teams and wellness programs. This approach is inherently flexible, space efficient and easily tested in the workplace with little capital or commitment. This shift has allowed smaller occupiers and large occupiers with distributed footprints to offer amenities like food, fitness and health services through services that larger tenants have historically provided in dedicated fixed spaces. It has the potential to really level the playing field in the amenities race,” said Damla Gerhart, senior managing director and Americas lead of CBRE's workplace practice.

By creating and implementing strategies to create value in a changing environment, corporate real estate executives have earned an elevated position in the C-suite—69% now report to a C-level position, up from 66% in 2017.