Digitalization and the global COVID-19 pandemic are the two drivers that are changing the way we work and use offices to a considerable extent that cannot yet be fully measured. Both drivers are acting simultaneously and individually, with Corona accelerating the digitalization of the world of work. This affects everyone who is involved in the planning, implementation, provision and use of office environments and workspaces.

 

The Times They Are A-Changin': New Work Becoming New Normal?

The consequences for the office market are significant - whether it's about office rental, coworking, the development of the next office tower or the asset management of corresponding investments.

Accordingly, New Work is being discussed intensively in the executive suites of companies, in corporate real estate management, in human resources departments, among consultants, office designers, urban planners and also in politics, and concepts and practical implementation are being worked on: What defines the new world of work? How must it be designed for the benefit of everyone? New Work is both a challenge and an opportunity. New Work is therefore in many people's minds and high on the company agenda. This is only logical, considering what this work concept stands for.

The term New Work was introduced in the 1980s by the Austrian-American social philosopher Frithjof Bergmann. The focus of the New Work movement at the time was primarily on humanistic values ​​- independence, freedom and participation in the community. At its core, work should be "purpose driven", i.e. follow a purpose. According to today's understanding, New Work is characterized as follows:

• Flexible, both in terms of space and time: Where do I work? How do I divide my working hours?
• Hybrid with three categories of workspaces: Head Office, Home Office and – new – Third Spaces
• More mobile and digital
• Agile and project-related
• Collaboration and coworking
• At least partly self-organized

New Work therefore stands for a modern working world that is very different from the traditional work culture that has dominated the more or less static office world for decades.

 

How is Corona changing the office world?

Corona hit the working world unprepared and substantially. Answers - e.g. switching to remote work - were quickly found and developments were set in motion or greatly accelerated - especially digitization. Three exemplary effects:

• Home office has become very relevant – and remains very relevant! The consequence: On the one hand, companies need less office space. On the other hand, other workspaces are needed to get employees excited about the office again and to promote collaboration, which has become more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. The classic open-plan office has lost just as much appeal as the string of single rooms.
• Flexibility had to be organized during the crisis. Flexibility is not only a positive learning experience, but is now a permanent expectation among employees and superiors. In concrete terms, spatial and temporal flexibility has also become important, especially when deciding on space, not least because business planning security has dwindled. Long-term, rigid rental contract offers are even less attractive than before.
• The digitization of work, offices and togetherness has gained momentum rapidly. Before Corona, there was a lot of talk about digitization, but with the pandemic at the latest, companies were forced to invest heavily in IT to enable remote working. Videoconferencing and virtual collaboration are now part of everyday office life and represent a cultural change that will help determine the work of the future.

 

Are the above-mentioned effects on the world of work and the office market really relevant and, above all, permanent? Without a doubt, yes. This is shown by the operational reality - deserted offices - and not least numerous studies. Example figures from the study "Home remains office" published by PwC in November 2021:

• 78% of employees want more home office.
• 38% of employers say that employee productivity has increased, only 16% see a deterioration.
• 78% of corporates are planning or are already working on adapting their office space.
• 31% of companies want to reduce their office space.

According to many experts, the office sector is facing similarly major upheavals as those that online trading has brought to the stationary retail business.

 

Who is affected and how?

In principle, all players in the office market are affected, although challenges and perspectives vary depending on the role. Examples:

• Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) is struggling with the dilemma of empty offices and high space costs. Rapid space reduction, e.g. by renting out, is difficult or impossible in a market in which many companies need less space and fewer and fewer want to commit to rigid office space for many years. Redesigning company offices is another task of CREM. On the one hand, more meeting and collaboration areas are needed, and on the other hand, quiet, confidential areas, e.g. for virtual meetings. In addition, it is important to inspire employees who have grown fond of home offices to return to the company headquarters with attractive, inspiring workspaces. Nothing less than new strategies for workplace management are necessary.
• Asset managers and office investors must acknowledge that the landlord market, which has been booming for many years, has turned towards the tenant market. Long-term, expensive rentals are becoming more difficult. Tenant care and tenant loyalty are becoming more important.
• Operators of coworking spaces are under pressure: Expensive, rigid rental contracts from pre-Corona times on the cost side and gaps on the revenue side due to a lack of capacity utilization are causing financial hardship for quite a few. In the long term, however, the increasing flexibility requirements in the office world should be a business driver.
• Human resources departments have not been a classic player in the office market to date. Now, with New Work, they have enormous responsibility for shaping things: Workplace concepts are becoming part of personnel policy. One question that needs to be solved in collaboration with CREM is: How must the workspace in the company be structured and equipped in order to take New Work into account and be attractive? The fact that New Work also opens up completely new horizons and potential in recruiting, employee care and in the war for talent is made clear by the example of the third workspace: The third workspace is the alternative to home office and company headquarters in the context of hybrid working models. Not everyone can, should or wants to work from home, and certainly not permanently. The journey to the company headquarters also becomes more tiring as the distance increases and may even require a move, a penalty, or even a knock-out criterion for an otherwise attractive job offer. The third workspace is the professional office workplace where the employee wants or needs it - whether it is a single desk around the corner from the employee's home address, a neighborhood office in the region, or a logistically well-located satellite office for the entire team. This makes it possible to expand recruiting from the catchment area of ​​the company headquarters to the entire planet. The world is our office!

 

Office sharing and third workspaces for New Work

Traditional office offers - long-term rental contracts for fixed premises - can only take New Work into account to a limited extent. What is needed are office solutions that are flexible in terms of space and time, the FlexOffice. Above all, what is needed is office infrastructure close to home or in the surrounding area of ​​the centers, in which employees and teams can work on selected days of the week, for example. These third workspaces can be rented flexibly using the Airbnb principle via sharing platforms such as ShareYourSpace - Office as a Service everywhere and anytime. On the ShareYourSpace marketplace, all offices and workspaces that are not permanently occupied can be flexibly offered and rented by anyone. There are no restrictions on regions, locations, locations, sizes, or equipment. The offer includes "ready to use" individual desks, meeting spaces, conference rooms, offices - from small rooms to entire floors, both for sole use or for coworking with third parties. The motto is apt: "You work best in spaces that fit your purpose! We provide those spaces whenever and wherever you need them!”.

Incidentally, office sharing makes a huge contribution to climate protection. Work-related commuting is reduced. In addition, the better utilization of office space - 500 million square meters in Germany alone - counteracts new construction and land sealing. After all, the most sustainable building is always the one that does not have to be built. This is not an insignificant point, since construction and buildings are responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions.

 

Ecosystem with numerous solutions, but also still need for discussion

In recent years, the range of solutions that strengthen New Work, FlexOffice and office sharing has exploded. Tools for remote collaboration, platforms for digitally booking services in and around the office, workspace sensors, intelligent security and access applications or hygiene solutions developed from the experience of the pandemic such as Staysafe are helping to make the new world of work efficient, low-risk and productive.

New Work will continue to prevail, although not all questions related to the new world of work have been addressed or finally clarified. What to do with all the space that is no longer needed? Marketing through office sharing is one solution, but not the only one given the volume? Does the CEO have to register a permanent establishment at his place of residence if he works predominantly from home? How can office sharing be positively included in the ESG taxonomy? Is the typical head office still needed or can the company headquarters not be dispensed with altogether? How can employees be best managed in a hybrid, decentralized world of work? How are corporate cultures changing and what is beneficial and what is detrimental to a positive culture? But good answers will be found for this too. Nobody really wants to go back to the old world.