As companies transition back to normal, flex offices have occupied a unique position to cater to the sudden surge in demand for office spaces. Businesses which gave up office spaces amid the pandemic are scrambling for ways to accommodate employees as they try to bring them back to work in office. And coworking providers are becoming a new stop gap solution for these emerging needs that have surfaced as workplaces open up.
Latest reports show that office leases have shot up by two-fold during the January to September period with property experts predicting an all-time high this year. As per global property consultancy firm Colliers India, office leasing touched 40.6 million sqft in the first nine months of the year across six major cities, out of which 50% was taken up by technology and flex office providers. This surge in leasing by coworking providers also meant the rising need for flex office spaces at a time when companies try to adjust to the hybrid model.
Flex office as a temporary set up: Even as the pandemic wanes, businesses particularly those that had trimmed their real estate during the pandemic are making a slow start. Most are taking a cautious step and watching the situation before they can roll out full-fledged. Some of the large organisations continue to gauge the interest of employees coming back to office. According to findings by Microsoft Work Trend Index Pulse Report 2022, 80% employees in India need a better reason to return to office besides company expectations. In such a situation, companies are making a smart move to turn to flex office providers while they make attempts to settle into the post pandemic phase.
Flex office as an option to bring office closer to home: As demand for office space rises, companies are exploring ways to expand their office presence in a way that suits the needs of the employees. What the pandemic has proven is the long-standing belief of how reducing the commute time could add to the productivity of the employees. As per Microsoft Work Trend report, unlike the pre-pandemic days, people now expect flexibility and autonomy around how, when and where they work. This is also where flex offices come into the picture as companies strategize their new workplace plan in the post Covid19 era. Increasingly corporates are using coworking spaces to follow a hub and spoke model where they try to set up smaller offices closer to the employees either in suburbs or in the city centres.
