21 January 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
The idea of flexible working, although accepted in pockets, will evolve further and become more mainstream, according to a report by global real estate company CBRE.
The firm's 2015/2016 Occupier Survey covered 120 companies. More than 80 per cent of the companies surveyed are headquartered in either Europe or North America, and a similar percentage of respondents have either a global or Europe-wide CRE remit.
According to respondents to the survey, the process of work is becoming more and more "heavily focused on choice".
Expanded choice around working hours and locations is viewed as more important than either specific position within the office, or access to particular pieces of technology. Companies are at very different stages in this journey and extremes will emerge as the most advanced refine their approach further.
The report states that the flexible working agenda is "dynamic" and time spent in the office is viewed by many as a "reward", which therefore needs to be "a high-quality experience wherever it happens to be".
This view of office space as something to be "consumed" by employees brings with it a need for personalisation, state-of-the-art technology and connectivity and a range of amenities.
The report also states that "wellness programmes will expand", and as the last few years have shown, what is initially viewed as "disruptive" rapidly becomes "normal".