Chapter 2
Work
The Global Live-Work-Shop Report
12 Minute Read
Flexibility seen as benefiting productivity, wellbeing and connectivity
The prominence given to flexibility now goes well beyond job selection decisions. The survey found that where flexibility has been provided, it is associated with more positive sentiment in areas including productivity, wellbeing and connectivity.
Hybrid or remote workers are far more likely than fully office-based workers to report they have experienced greater personal and team productivity. The same applies for wellbeing, as measured by better work-life balance and levels of job satisfaction.
In terms of connectivity, hybrid workers report by far the highest levels of connectedness to their own teams and to the rest of the company, with the survey also revealing that their relationships with colleagues had improved the most.
% who agree with the following statement
Source: CBRE Research, 2022.
The shift to hybrid working has engendered more trust in employees
Approximately half of respondents report a strengthening in their level of trust with their employer compared with prior to the pandemic.
A higher proportion of hybrid and remote worker respondents reported stronger trust with their employer than those who are fully office-based, a trend that was especially prominent in the Americas—in part because workers with a more flexible schedule feel empowered with greater autonomy over how they work, which in turn drives a feeling of greater trust with their employer.
With the shift toward hybrid and remote forms of working having improved trust, finding ways to reinforce this position by retaining or enhancing the real estate and work flexibility available to employees will boost engagement and competitiveness.
Compared with views pre-pandemic, how far do you agree with the following statement: The trust I have in my current employer has strengthened
Source: CBRE Research, 2022.
Offering flexibility provides opportunity to build trust — a driver of employee engagement
Actions for Occupiers and Investors
Use offices to drive engagement
Occupiers must recognize the close links between trust gains, flexibility and positive work sentiment in portfolio and workplace planning.
Select real estate with features that users value most
Occupiers should seek to enhance the productivity, well-being and connectivity of employees in and out of the office. This embraces both building choice and the design and configuration of space to support employee flexibility across all work environments.
Adjust investment strategies
The permanent shift toward hybrid working means that occupiers’ evolving strategies matter more to investment decision processes. Investors are advised to redirect investment selection criteria toward assets possessing the aforementioned favorable user characteristics.
Easing commute time is key to improving office utilization
Tolerance of long commutes is dropping sharply, with respondents naming it as their second most important job selection factor amid a widespread wish to spend much less time traveling to and from work.
Three-quarters of respondents want a one-way commute time of no more than 30 minutes, but only 57% currently have one. Conversely, the tolerance to commute for more than 30 minutes in the future is much lower than current levels.
The need to reflect lower commuting appetite will be a major determinant of office location decisions. As many respondents, particularly Gen Z and millennials, want to live in centralized areas, CBDs look set to once again be the most sought-after office locations.
The Global Live-Work-Shop Report Data Dashboard
How do your attitudes around how you live, work and shop compare to those in your region, market and age group?