Why are flexible offices a growing hit?

For many companies, office relocation is a very stressful experience. Regardless of this, the What Works Wellbeing interest association managed to do this six more times in eight years.

A company that collects and analyzes data on how to improve well-being in the workplace never signs long-term leases, however. three days a week he pays for the use of common areas for his headquarters in London. Every month, they have "team days", during which they expand their capacities, rent additional meeting rooms in the building and also tables from neighboring companies.

"We have agreed with the teams [of other organizations] that are next to us that we can use each other's premises," she said. Nancy Hey, executive director.

Breakdown in the commercial real estate market

Hey is a pioneer of the so-called flexible office. While the most recognizable brand in this field, WeWork, collapsed after years of mismanagement, the model it popularized continues, transformed into "flexible spaces."

The concept overlaps to a certain extent with the concept of "co-working", but it has more different sub-categories: different types of shared offices with various services included, including executive suites and incubators, office “hourly rental” and “desks by the hour” . While "co-working" was initially intended mainly for individuals and start-ups, flexible offices can also be interesting for larger and established companies. It seems that they are still suitable for the post-pandemic period: companies are still abandoning fixed workplaces, as remote work is constantly on the rise.

Changes in the way people work have already caused a breakdown in the field of commercial real estate.

Office vacancy rates in the United Kingdom and the United States are still at record highs, according to research firm CoStar. Some of the declines in value were spectacular: The largest office building in St. Louis, the former AT&T Tower, which sold for $205 million in 2006, will soon be sold at auction, with bids starting at $2.5 million.

Some open-air offices will be converted into residential complexes, but in many cases this is impossible due to restrictive zoning laws or unsuitable building structures. Therefore, these spaces will have to become offices, no matter what.

New flexibility

Most companies still want office space; very few bosses approve of "full-time" remote work. However, tenants find themselves in a buyer's market, reluctant to sign the five- or ten-year leases that were once common. Companies are looking for new flexibility, often with "shorter lease terms and more" freedom to expand or demolish the entire space", reports real estate consultants CBRE. With tenants' freedom to leave the office at a moment's notice, landlords are under constant pressure to provide attractive workspaces, often equipped with gyms or even childcare.

Many workers can firstč they choose an office whose location and culture suit them, rather than driving to an office their company accidentally rented years ago.

For now, flexible offices are still a rarity - according to CBRE, they represent only 1.7 percent of all offices in the US.

But it appears more and more of such cases that confirm the described trend. Since many employees come into the office only two or three days a week, some companies use the "timeshare model": sharing space with a company that works on different days.

Even in neighborhoods in the suburbs and small towns, "flexible spaces" are appearing, which are intended for workers who no longer commute. to the offices. These people now work from home, but they don't actually do much of their work from home. Some remote workers have to find a third place because of a cramped apartment or loud children. Employers often help them rent a desk near their home. For example, Spotify offered employees "membership in a co-working space if they want to work from the office."

Always ready for changes

Hey said this model allowed What Works Wellbeing to move easily when space needs changed, or in one case, when the property manager didn't pay rent and they were busy one morning. arrived to find the office closed.

They have always shared office space with other organizations, which has led to valuable partnerships.

"In eight years, we had at least six different offices. What we think is very useful is to socialize with people who are similar to you,” she said.

IWG, which is WeWork's biggest co-working competitor, announced that it has "launched an extensive expansion program and will add 1,000 spaces to its global network over the next year, most of which mostly in suburban and rural locations and often in small towns”.

These "flexible spaces" in small towns can become the centers of local communities - places where people get to know each other.

Some tenants of flexible spaces will be start-ups. The flexibility allows them to start with minimal office costs and then quickly increase them as they grow. Other small businesses may choose to share flexible offices with similar businesses.

"ÄŒIf there are not many of you in the office, it is safer and more interesting to be among people,” Hey explained. A woman working alone late in an empty office can feel unsafe, she added.