The concept of the office has changed considerably in the last year, coinciding with technological advances and with new ways of working, as pointed out by MVGM, a European reference company in Property Management. Employees are increasingly working from home and using company headquarters to a lesser extent. For this reason, the concept of ‘flexible offices’ must be introduced, a term that refers to the reinvention of these spaces according to the uses that are given to them by the companies themselves.
According to the company's estimates, the impact of the pandemic in the office sector could vary markedly in different parts of Europe. While the impact in some countries could be limited due to the pre-existing trend of teleworking, the impact could be stronger in some places with little adherence to this methodology. And it is that, when offices were closed and teleworking was imposed indefinitely, many companies found themselves in unknown territory: before the pandemic, almost two-thirds of office workers did not usually work from home, as reported included in the report "Building Strong Foundations ", by JLL.
« Teleworking was already a growing trend in companies and the pandemic has accelerated that process. Now, we will have to see how the sector evolves, but we believe that companies will follow a hybrid model, at least at the beginning, since a meeting point is still necessary where they can exchange information, socialize, learn and create a spirit of belonging to a group » says Elisa Navarro, General Director of MVGM in Spain.
The return to the offices for September
The high rate of vaccination in Spain is one of the main reasons that have led a large part of the business sector to decree the return to the offices as of September 1. Based on the latest MVGM report, since the first quarter of 2021 a progressive return of the teams to the workspaces began to be seen, largely supported by optimism due to the implementation and progress of the programs of vaccination.
However, the hybrid option may be a trend among larger firms. This is clear from the Adecco report “Remote Work in Western Europe”, which indicates that the preferred option for companies (44%) is two days a week remotely followed by the one-day option ( 29%).