Page 42 - FDI Alliance International Magazine. Spring 2021 Digital Interactive Issue

THE FUTURE OF THE OFFICE

In a span of a few days, the world went from planning to bring back their workforce by the people expect more flexible work arrangements
bustling business-as-usual to deserted urban end of March, according to a report from The from here on out: 54% of respondents expect to
cores, not unlike those described in popular Conference Board. work from home at least one day a week. Add to
dystopian fiction books. Vast amounts of office it, a new Korn Ferry survey found that nearly two-
spaces sat completely empty for months and Corporate giants like Dropbox have made their thirds (64%) of respondents are more productive
months, and with each passing day speculations entire workforce permanently remote. Facebook at home.
grew about what would happen with the excess will allow up to half its employees to work remote
spaces. permanently. American Express and Capital One On the flipside, the Steelcase survey found that the
are planning to keep their respective staffs remote top two reasons folks want to return to the office
Now, an entire year later, the world is still battling until at least Labor Day 2021. All this in stark are to connect with colleagues and reconnect to
a pandemic, major metropolitan business contrast to the finding that 60% of employees the organization and shared purpose.
centers are still largely working from home, and expected to be back in the office by the end
corporate executives are continuing to strategize of Q1 2021, according to data gathered by So, that begs the question, what is the future of
where to go from here. CREtech. the office?

It is unlikely that offices will return to pre-COVID When thinking from the individual perspective, Sara Fredericks, Director at Newmark in Dallas,
levels of occupancy any time soon. Vaccinations the needs of office workers have changed. Office Texas, is a site location consultant who works
are rolling out and consumer confidence is furniture manufacturer Steelcase surveyed 32,000 regularly with locating corporate office projects.
rising, though only about 40% of employers were people in 10 different countries. They found that Based on her experiences over the past year, she

42. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL