Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), a leading global real estate services firm, releaseda report examiningwhat industry leaders expect their future workplacesto look like in a post-pandemic environment following the anticipated successful distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination.
The new report, “WorkplaceEcosystems of the Future,”developed by Cushman & Wakefield’s global research team, includes focus group and surveyinsights from building owners with just under US$900B in assets under management, building occupiers representing US$574B in annual revenue, and business improvement district executive directors in major U.S. markets containing over 350 million square feet of office space.
Among other findings, there isstrong consensus among leaders that declines in workplaceculture, innovation and creativityare inevitable whenpeople work entirely remotely.Hybrid working, where employees spend part of the weekworking in the office and the other part workingfrom home or in a thirdlocation, is expected to more than double going forward, while exclusively remote structures will remain the exception. In addition, thereal estate industry is expected to become nimbleras tenants require greater flexibility in terms of space, amenities and leasing terms.
“These testimonies and research findings provide further evidence that people still need a space to collaborate, innovate and stay connected – and the office provides that,” said David C. Smith, Global Head of Occupier Research at Cushman & Wakefield. “The pandemic has given us the opportunity to test remote work. Moving forward, occupiers will need to strike the right balance between remote and in-office work, and our research indicates a need for fundamental change in the culture and flexibility of the real estate industry in order to remain relevant in a post-pandemic environment.”
This report is the latest and third of Cushman & Wakefield’s four-part global research series exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on the future of office and the workplace,“New Perspective: From Pandemic to Performance. ”Parts 2 and 3 arederived from Cushman & Wakefield’s own analysis of 5.5 million data points from workers around the globe, in affiliation with the George Washington University (GWU) School of Business Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis and Places Platform, LLC, a place-based national real estate proptech firm.
Part 2’sretrospective analysisexamines how we’ve come to rely on offices and the unlikeliness of the office to disappear, particularly given the types of economies likely to reemerge in a post-pandemic world. This includes the knowledge economy, which is a result of job growth in technology, science, design and professional services, and the experience economy, which includes tourism, sporting events and other live events.
The fourth and final part of the global research series will examine external factorsshaping the future of work, including technological, political change, and economic drivers.
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 53,000 employees in 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2019, the firm had revenue of $8.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.
About George Washington University
The Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) is a national thought-leader on real estate and policy at The George Washington University School of Business. The research at the CREUA targetsmetropolitan development trends, the re-introduction of walkable urban development over the past 20 years into real estate and covers all real estate product types in the U.S. and abroad.
