As COVID-19 cases witness a significant fall, a majority of employees in telecom and consulting sectors have returned to office, according to a survey by Colliers and Awfis. It added that IT and new-technology companies are witnessing the lowest rate of return.

“After a gap of two years, return to offices has gathered momentum with ebbing COVID-19 cases, signifying positive occupier confidence. At the same time, about 74 per cent of the occupiers are looking towards distributed workspaces as a strategy to shift from location-centric to people-centric workspaces. This will enable flexibility to employees while furthering productivity gains for businesses,” according to the study.

According to the study, more than half of the IT/ITeS companies (the largest occupier group) prefer a distributed work model for their employees.

“Therefore, we can see opportunities for flex spaces not only in metro cities but also in non-metro cities. In fact, in non-metro cities, total flex spaces are likely to grow more than two-fold to 5.5 million sq feet by the end of 2022,” said Ramesh Nair, chief executive officer (India) and managing director (market development-Asia), Colliers.

It added that about 53 per cent of the occupiers prefer a hybrid workplace plan for their employees, with working from home and office in varying degrees. Time and cost savings, increased employee convenience and overall well-being of employees are key priorities for occupiers, as they look to enable distributed workspace strategy.

“About 79 per cent of the occupiers who are ready to opt for flex spaces see time and cost savings as major benefits. Clearly, pursuing business goals in tandem with benefits to employees is at the core of occupiers’ interest,” it said.

Awfis founder & CEO Amit Ramani said, “The findings of the survey are a testament to the success of the distributed work model and subsequently of flex spaces in catering to the ever-evolved workspace needs of India Inc. The survey unveils that currently, 74 per cent occupiers have adopted flex centres for their workspace needs, given the multiple benefits associated with flex working.”

Ramani added that going forward, 77 per cent occupiers will include flex spaces as part of their workplace strategy. We expect exceptional demand in the future, driven largely by large corporates for de-densification of existing traditional offices.

“Keeping employee centricity at the forefront, 79 per cent of the occupiers feel that distributed workplace strategy will be highly beneficial to save time and money. Additionally, work-life balance, mental wellbeing and team productivity are fueled when opting for flex spaces,” said Sumit Lakhani, deputy CEO, Awfis.

In the first half of 2022, flex operators leased about 3.5 million sq feet, accounting for about 13 per cent of the overall leasing, in line with the surging demand for flex space by occupiers.

“About 90 per cent of the occupiers from e-commerce and consulting sectors are likely to include flex space in their current portfolio. Occupiers see dual benefits arising out of distributed workspaces. They view time and cost-saving benefits followed by better work-life balance for employees,” said Vimal Nadar, senior director and head (research) at Colliers India.

This story appeared in the 4 August, 2022 issue of News 18 and was originally published at: Return To Office: These Sectors Witnessing Highest Physical Attendance of Employees

As many as 53 per cent of the employers prefer a hybrid workplace plan for their employees, with working from home and office in varying degrees, revealed a survey by Awfis. Time and cost savings, increased employee convenience and overall well-being of employees are key priorities for occupiers, as they look to enable distributed workspace strategy, the report said.

About 74 per cent of the occupiers are looking towards distributed workspaces as a strategy to shift from location-centric to people-centric workspaces. The report says that that telecom and consulting sectors see the 75 to 100 per cent of return to office. Meanwhile, sectors with the lowest (0-25 per cent) of return are IT and new technology workspace.

The report further added that about 74 per cent of the occupiers are likely to adopt distributed workspace while about 53 per cent of occupiers prefer working from home and office as their preferred workplace portfolio strategy. Further the report also claims that about 49 per cent of the occupiers are likely to adopt flex centres to enable distributed workspace, followed by setting up their own offices in metro and non-metro cities.

“Keeping employee centricity at the forefront, 79 per cent of the occupiers feel that distributed workplace strategy will be highly beneficial to save time and money. Additionally, work-life balance, mental wellbeing and team productivity are fueled when opting for flex spaces.”, said Sumit Lakhani, Deputy CEO, Awfis.

“The survey has made it clear that a distributed workspace strategy is the way to go for occupiers in this new era of experiential workplaces, as occupiers emerge from the after-effects of the pandemic. Flex spaces, in particular, are leading this growth, as occupiers from varied sectors are housing teams in flex centres across cities. This shift in strategy also reflects in the leasing by flex operators – flex operators leased about 3.5 million sq feet of space in H1 2022 across the top six cities, almost three-fourths of the flex leasing in entire 2021,” said Ramesh Nair, Chief Executive Officer.

Amit Ramani, Founder & CEO, Awfis said, “The findings of the survey are a testament to the success of the distributed work model and subsequently of flex spaces in catering to the ever-evolved workspace needs of India Inc. The survey unveils that currently 74 per cent occupiers have adopted flex centres for their workspace needs given the multiple benefits associated with flex working. Going forward, 77 per cent occupiers will include flex spaces as part of their workplace strategy. We expect exceptional demand in the future, driven largely by large corporates for de-densification of existing traditional offices.”]

This story appeared in the 4 August, 2022 issue of News 18 and was originally published at: 53% of Employers Prefer Hybrid Workplace Plan for Their Employees: Survey

Most young people want to go back to the office for work. Gurnani says that middle-aged people prefer to work from home without bothering to drive on a daily basis.

In a statement to fortune India, managing director and CEO CP Gurnani said, “Looking at it from a real estate perspective, I don’t need more than 50% of the workplace space. In my own opinion, 40% of the space currently available to work is enough. For every employee, if I had provided 150 square feet of space, I am now going to give them only 60 square feet. because I can work flexibly.”

Two different opinions
According to our internal surveys, most young people want to return to the office for work. Gurnani says that middle-aged people prefer to work from home without bothering to drive on a daily basis.

The fast-paced hybrid age
Supporting his logical stance by emphasizing on the merit of technology that has enabled employees to work efficiently from anywhere in the last two years, Gurnani said, “The world of work has changed. Artificial Intelligence, automated, security, extended platforms facilitated today is the hybrid age.”

Technology has proved this. The only thing that needs to be addressed today is which tasks, which areas need more interaction,” says Gurnani.

In fact, in terms of leasing traditional office spaces, the average contract size of technology companies has reduced by 15% pan-india in 2021 compared to pre-covid-19 levels, data released by colliers, a property consultant, shows.

Plan to open a small branch office
According to company analysts, technology companies are exploring the hub and spoke office model. He explains that the idea is to have a head office in the tech corridor and many smaller branch offices near residential locations.

“This change is likely to gain momentum in the future. small and medium-sized contracts are expected to assume greater importance in the face of big deals in the future,” says Ramesh Nair, CEO and Managing Director, Market Development, India division, Asia at Colliers.

Opportunities for skilled talents
While the hybrid work model gives corporates an opportunity to hire skilled talent at low cost from tier-ii and tier-three cities, several it companies are also preferring to accommodate such employees.

Amit Ramani, founder and CEO of Awfis, had earlier said, “Already around 60% of the employees in the best seven cities have returned to their hometowns and a potential 10% of them will not go back to their original work centres.” Tech Mahindra is said to be keen to hire talent from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Setting up of small campuses
To substantiate this, the company has already hired around 8,000 employees from nine locations, including Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Vijayawada and Coimbatore. However, the company is yet to reveal whether the company has fixed co-working spaces in this regard or not. It is learnt that they have set up small campuses in some such places.

Currently, the concept of hybrid work model is widely accepted everywhere. For instance, Meesho, an e-commerce startup, has decided to switch to a completely hybrid work model.

Meesho offering a job location selection
The company is giving its employees the option of working from home, office or any place according to their choice. Based on employee demand, the company will consider setting up satellite offices in locations with high talent density. this structure of Meesho has been described as a ‘model of a boundary less workplace’.

This story appeared in the 23 February, 2022 issue of News 18 Kannada and was originally published  at : Hybrid work mode: Mahindra requires only 50% space for office work!- News 18 Kannada