Workers Signal They Want a Hybrid Approach to the Office

For office landlords, brokers and investors, the explosion of remote working arrangements and the ongoing debate over will former office dwellers return to the office—or won’t they—has created a great deal of angst. 

A new JLL survey may not allay concerns. However, while it did show a big jump in the positive outlook on working from home, it also indicated that workers want an office to retreat to now and again. 

The amount of days worked remotely is expected to double post crisis, going from 1.2 days pre-pandemic to 2.4 days a week post-pandemic. A majority of employees, 72%, want to continue working from home post-crisis while, in response to another question, 66% want to do so at least two days a week. 

However, only 26% would like to work remotely full-time post-crisis. Further,  50% of employees prefer a hybrid approach and 24% of employees want to work exclusively in the office—meaning a total of 75% of workers prefer some access to the office.

But this is just one data point in a larger debate that includes many conflicting theories.

For example, Silverstein Properties CEO Marty Burger told GlobeSt.com in an earlier interview he doesn’t expect COVID-19 to significantly change the office landscape. 

“For the most part, most companies will see the value in having an office,” he said. “You can’t mentor people through a Zoom meeting, and it is difficult to raise money over the phone. You can’t collaborate as well when you’re not all in a room together.’

He added, “I think net-net in the long term, we’ll need about the same amount of space. [The office transition brought on by COVID] may benefit the newer office buildings, but I still think tenants in Class B buildings will need the same amount of space.”

Also, certain industries, such as law, are likely to remain married to an office presence. 

Young attorneys, for example, seem to want their careers to start with an in-office position. “I was surprised that as I interviewed candidates, most of them asked to come in,” said Genovese Joblove & Battista partner John Arrastia in an October interview regarding his outlook for 2021. ”Many young lawyers who haven’t had that experience of working in a firm and collaborating want that.”

On the other end of the spectrum are companies that recognize that remote work policies will be important to many employees post pandemic. In a recent S&P Global Market Intelligence Digital Pulse survey, 69% of companies found that 75% of their workforce is able to work remotely without issue. As a result, 64% of companies plan to increase remote work policies in the wake of the pandemic.

And on the plus side, according to JLL, employees indicate that work-from-home has proved to be more efficient for concentration and taking mental breaks.