Flexible office space is coming back into the fold. After a rocky year leading up to the pandemic, flexible office space is once again spiking in popularity with the growing prevalence for remote and hybrid work, In short, it is becoming an important part of an office portfolio.

"Today, there are non-traditional portfolio strategies that they are able to deploy to allow them more flexibility, and that is flexible office space. This idea of having fully built-out space with flexibility lease terms where you can go in as a tenant and be quite nimble," Julie Whelan, global head of occupier thought leadership at CBRE, said in a webinar hosted by CBRE that discussed workplace strategy and occupier sentiment.

Whelan says more and more companies are expecting to incorporate flexible office space to better accommodate employees. "In the next two years, the sentiment is shifting," says Whelan. The organizations planning to dedicate at least half of their portfolio to flex space has increased 34%. "So, we really think this is an area of the market that is going to grow. Potentially, it will be additive to actual space take up and space demand going forward," says Whelan.