Head of Advisory Jones lang laSalle
What are some of the common requests from your clients?
Most of our clients would like to know how they can attract their employees back to the office. They are facing the challenge of creating a welcoming, safe environment that offers people a compelling reason to come in. At the same time, they are considering how best to update workplace policies to help staff feel engaged and supported wherever they’re working from.
What can we expect from the future and from the next property concepts/trends?
As employees come back to the office, companies need to recognise the importance of health and wellbeing for long-term performance. Creating supportive work environments that help employees to collaborate and accommodate flexible working is more vital than ever. Building an inclusive environment where employees feel safe, and can alleviate stress and burnout, is also key for today’s workforce.
Please share how you anticipate these trends.
Offices continue to have a critical role to play in the workplace environment. However, it needs to evolve constantly to meet the needs and requirements of occupiers and their employees. The office remains integral to corporate strategy. ‘office nostalgia’ is prominent and most pronounced in outstanding offices, meaning the office has a role in navigating periods of uncertainty.
While the pandemic has accelerated changes towards flexible work-from- home models, the home environment does present its own challenges – lack of a dedicated workspace, interruptions, and social isolation, to name a few.
Increasingly, employees are becoming more vocal about their workplace expectations. This creates an opportunity for employers to gather information and create an environment that assists attraction and retention strategies. This confirms the office is clearly here to stay and will become more important now as the centre of the work ecosystem. outstanding office environments will remain a critical way to engage employees.