Sustainable workplaces of hybrid work shaping the future in the next three years
In the wake of the pandemic, workers are putting their faith in flexible working. In the last month, results from a study carried out by the Randstad Singapore, a human resources (HR) service provider Randstad Singapore highlighted that over 40% of Singapore employees will not accept an offer if they were incapable of working at home, or if their job doesn’t allow flexibility in working hours.
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The clear shift in employees’ attitudes is a sign that hybrid work will be around for the foreseeable future — which has prompted more companies to think about their office environments. “The coming three years will be a turning moment for real estate, because the changes brought on by the pandemic provide an opportunity to take a step back, consider a long-term real estate strategies and how it relates to the future priorities of business,” notes Anthony Couse CEO of Asia Pacific, at JLL.
JLL’s Future of Work Survey 2022 conducted a survey of CRE executives in corporate settings, (CRE) executives from around the world it discovered the following: 56% of Asia Pacific (Apac) respondents stated that they would offer remote working to everyone in 2025. At a briefing for media on 18 August Couse points out the many options for hybrid work arrangements, based on many factors like the size of the company, its business sector, culture of work as well as the country of operations and much more. “Everybody interprets hybrid differently,” he says.
Yet, it’s clear that companies must transform their workplaces to allow for flexible working patterns and this Couse states is now an essential tool in the fight for talent as well as a an element of diversity equity, equity and inclusion strategies. The office’s role is crucial, but while hybrid models are important but they do have some limitations. A survey in March 2022 conducted by JLL of Apac HR decision-makers showed that nearly 67% of the managers polled find it difficult to manage a multi-faceted workforce.
The most important issue is the development of careers, particularly for employees who are junior or new to their professions. “Sixty percent of HR executives think that the office is the best place to grow your career and learn. It’s impossible to learn outside of the office,” Couse explains. Another reason is related to organizational the culture, which can be difficult to develop without having employees have interaction with each other in the workplace.
Additionally, the study revealed how hybrid jobs are pushing businesses to discover new ways to facilitate collaboration through the application of technology as well by providing areas that encourage collaboration.
In this regard, Couse emphasises that the office is still an integral part of organizations. “Seventy-seven percent of CRE professionals believe that offices will continue to be an integral part of the long-term environment,” he says.
Contrary to the perception that companies are reducing office space due to the shift towards flexible working arrangements, Couse claims that the leasing data from Apac indicates a consistent requirement for office spaces. Despite a difficult macroeconomic environment, Apac recorded a net utilization of office space of four million square meters (43 million square feet) in 2021. This is similar to the 10 year running average for Apac. “It’s clear evidence that the office remains vitally important because the office is taking up more area,” he says.
As a result of this demand organizations are also looking into redesigning their workplaces to reflect the changing circumstances in a post-pandemic setting. In its poll on Apac HR leaders, JLL discovered the following: 56% of respondents are planning to revamp or remodel office spaces over the next twelve months in order to create a workplace that is envisioned as a space that facilitates meeting face-to-face, collaboration as well as encouraging creativity and ingenuity.
Green buildings are becoming more popular
Another factor that is driving the change in workplaces is the increasing demand for environmental socio-economic and management (ESG) and sustainable development. The world’s most developed nations like Japan, Canada and the US have set goals to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. In Singapore Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat announced on September 5 that they were also considering the possibility of a net zero goalpost for 2050. In the meantime, private-sector companies around all over the world are beginning to draw the net zero carbon emission strategies.
Kamya Miglani, JLL’s director for ESG Research, Asia Pacific, highlights that decarbonizing building environments is an essential aspect of achieving net zero carbon goals. In the JLL’s decarbonizing cities and Real Estate report released in May, she points out the fact that a study of 32 cities across the globe discovered that buildings are responsible for around 60% of all emissions. In Singapore with its greater proportion of modern buildings and structures, the built environment is responsible for forty% in carbon dioxide emissions.
Due to the importance for the built world to the quest to achieve net zero corporations are seeking ways to build an eco-friendly real estate portfolio which includes the use of green-certified buildings, according to Miglani. JLL’s Future of Work survey found that 7 out of 10 businesses located in Apac would be willing to fork out a cost to lease buildings with green certifications.
The demand for green certified buildings is far greater than the supply particularly in the established cities in which around eighty% of the existing buildings that will be present in 2050 was already built. In this regard, Miglani argues the fact that retrofitting buildings of the past is crucial to achieving an adequate supply for green structures. To reach net zero targets in 2050, the present rate of retrofitting buildings must be more than 3% per year, more that the present rate one% or 2%.
Another green option Miglani is convinced will be popular is green leases. These are lease agreements between tenants and landlords which contain clauses that spell the environmental goals for how the building will be managed or used with respect to sustainability. A majority of% of the CRE pros interviewed with JLL in Apac consider green leases to be “a revolution for making real estate sustainable” and 30% already having signed the new lease.
However, Miglani states that green leases need the right infrastructure and tools to gather data that allows them to accurately determine whether sustainability requirements are being fulfilled. “Again this is why retrofitting buildings enters it,” she says. In the end, Miglani argues the fact that businesses that adopt eco-friendly real estate solutions are able to secure their business. “A green office does not only help in achieving [net zero carbon goals] and meet the requirements of employees in a constantly changing multi-faceted, hybrid setting,” she says.