35 percent of businesses in top six cities report 75-100% of workers returning to work from offices . Report: Employers should focus workplans around flexibility going forward
After a slowdown of about two years, return to office (RTO) is picking up pace, with about 35 percent of businesses in the top six cities of the country reporting a majority (75-100%) of employees returning to work from offices, according to a C-Suite survey carried out by real estate consultancy firm Colliers and coworking player Awfis.As the third wave of Covid-19 began to fade in February, the return to office gained traction.As a result, about 34-35 percent of businesses saw 75-100% of workers back in office by June 2022 (this also includes hybrid work).According to the report titled Workplace & Flexibility, employers should focus workplans around flexibility going forward.
According to the survey, about 74% of firms are considering distributed workspaces as a way to shift from location-centric to people-centric workspaces, which will allow employees flexibility and increase sales gains.In this new age of immersive workplaces, Ramesh Nair, CEO India & managing director, market development Asia, Colliers, says that occupiers are choosing to house their workers in flex centers across cities.This change in tactic is also seen in lease trends, with flex operators leasing around 3.5 million square feet of space in H1 2022, accounting for about 13% of total leasing in the top six cities, or about three-quarters of the total leasing in 2021, according to he.While Pune had the highest percentage of flex in total leasing in H1 2022, it was followed by Delhi NCR at 19%, Mumbai with 16%, Bengaluru with 15%, and Hyderabad and Chennai with 8% each.
We can see opportunities for flex spaces in metro and non-metro cities, where total flex spaces are expected to increase by over twofold to 5.5 million square feet by the end of 2022, he said.Amit Ramani, the founder and CEO of Awfis, said that the number of occupier businesses choosing flex centers for their work environment would increase to 77% going forward.According to Ramani, we expect to see a lot of growth in the future, owing to large firms’ efforts to de-densify existing traditional offices.
This story appeared in the 4 August, 2022 issue of The Times Bureau and was originally published at: Hyderabad: Consultancy firms and telcos have the highest return rates