The Future of Offices is Not What You Think

Shifting to 21st Century Agility in the Workplace; the changing world of office work and how it impacts not only commercial real estate but the future of cities.

The ultraconservative real estate industry has been forced into a state of flux. It is facing a perfect storm like never before. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed where and how people work, but other factors including ubiquitous digital access, the gig economy and the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce are having major implications for the demand for real estate. Most who have now experienced remote working are questioning the ways we used to work and the purpose of the office — which has a knock-on effect for the future of our cities.

The current status quo of static office buildings where workers are confined in a sea of cubicles needs to be re-imagined with a people-centric focus that offers smart and agile alternatives. It’s necessary that commercial office space suppliers work in new ways with consumers to build a deeper and more holistic understanding of how a workplace can deliver tangible business value. Are we going to see a dramatic shift from the current adversarial model? The shift in demand brought about by COVID-19 is upending the landlords’ long-running business model of “build it and they will come.”

Guest Chris Kane, has worked in the Corporate Real Estate sector for over thirty years, having operated as the Vice President of International Corporate Real Estate for The Walt Disney Company, before acting as Head of Corporate Real Estate at the BBC. His new book, Where Is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century (Bloomsbury Business, Oct. 15, 2020) investigates innovative corporate real estate thinking in the modern workplace. Learn more on Twitter: @chriskane55