Cushman & Wakefield Research Predicts New Normal for Workplace

Largest Survey on Working from Home During Pandemic Reveals Work Will Shift from Office-Based to Total Workplace Ecosystem, Balancing Office, Home and Other Locations

 

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media
OutReach – 4 June 2020
– Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) recently analyzed responses from
more than 40,000 people in the largest survey conducted on work-from-home
experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing insight into how employees
are coping and what the new normal will look like as offices reopen.

 

The survey results
demonstrate that, during the pandemic, productivity remains strong and team
collaboration has reached new heights through better leverage of remote
technology. Three quarters of respondents agree or strongly agree that they are
collaborating effectively with colleagues in the current environment — up 10%
from the pre-COVID-19 period — and 73% think companies should embrace flexible
working policies.

 

“It’s imperative
to recognize that the workplace will no longer be a single location, but an
ecosystem of a variety of locations and experiences to support convenience,
functionality and employee wellbeing,” said Brett White, Executive
Chairman & CEO of Cushman & Wakefield. “That said, we expect
current real estate footprint sizes to remain steady. Flexible working
practices may result in fewer people in the office at any one time, but that
space-saving is offset by the need to accommodate social distancing in the
office.”

 

Remote working may be
here to stay, but results also show human connection and social bonding are
suffering, thus negatively impacting corporate culture and learning. Slightly
more than half of respondents feel connected to their colleagues in the
work-from-home environment.

 

“As we look to
the future, the office will have a new purpose: to provide inspiring
destinations that strengthen cultural connection, enhance learning, encourage
bonding among colleagues and customers, and foster creativity and
innovation,” said Despina Katsikakis, Head of Workplace Business
Performance at Cushman & Wakefield.

 

Carol Wong, Director
and Head of Workplace Delivery, Asia Pacific added, “The results for Asia Pacific
are similar to the rest of the world in that employees in this region are also
finding themselves to be as equally or more productive when working from home.
However, given the cultural diversity in Asia Pacific, it is important for
organizations to take a ‘Glocal’ approach (appropriately apply global trends
locally) in designing the future of their workplaces. Individual cultural
nuances as well as employees’ readiness for change have to be considered in
order to maintain or enhance employees’ experience and engagement levels.” 

 

“Flexibility is
accelerating in China,” said Jonathan Wei, Managing Director, Head of
Occupier Services, China at Cushman & Wakefield. “By adopting a
data-driven, evidence-based approach companies can develop innovative
strategies that support a combination of office-based and remote working to
leverage success and manage challenges.”

 

John Siu, Managing
Director, Hong Kong at Cushman & Wakefield said, “Remote working apparently
does not fit all trades, however, given the global-top office rental levels in
Hong Kong, for those companies that could adopt remote working as a viable
alternative, it will be a way to help save costs and attract talents.”

 

Cushman &
Wakefield has adopted a data-driven, evidenced-based approach to understanding
key drivers of workplace experience through its Experience per Square Foot™
(XSF) database, a proprietary tool that tracks real estate and workplace
metrics. The firm has analyzed over 2.5 million data points related to
workplace experience pre-COVID-19, and a further 1.7 million data points in the
current work-from-home environment.

 

Visit The Future of
Workplace to download the report.

 

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 51,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 70
countries. Across Greater China, there are 22 offices servicing the local
market. The company won four of the top awards in the Euromoney Survey 2017
& 2018 in the categories of Overall, Agency Letting/Sales, Valuation and
Research in China. In 2018, the firm had revenue of $8.2 billion across core
services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital
markets, advisory and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.hk or follow us on
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/cushman-&-wakefield-greater-china)