INTHEBLACK March 2025 - Magazine - Page 46
F E AT U R E
IN-OFFICE WORK: THE
REAL-ESTATE DREAM
While knowledge workers may prefer
the hybrid model, return-to-office mandates
are on the rise. Research from Morgan
McKinley shows more than 90 per cent
of firms in Hong Kong are urging their
workers to increase their office presence,
compared to 61 per cent in Singapore
and 65 per cent in Australia.
This presents good news for the
commercial real estate sector, with a 2023
study by McKinsey estimating that remote
work could wipe US$800 billion
(A$1.2 trillion) from the value of office
buildings in major cities by 2030. It also
presents an opportunity for re-zoning
and mixed use of offices to potentially
offset housing shortages.
Many leaders believe that maintaining
a strong culture requires all employees
to be in the same workplace; however,
Whitefield says leaders can overcome
culture barriers if they are willing
to work at it.
“Some leaders are probably saying,
‘I’m a bit over working at it,’ but you’ve
got to counter that with the benefit to the
employee of working two, two-and-a-half
or even three days a week from home,
and the benefits that that in turn brings
to organisations. I think the better leaders
have been willing to weigh that up and
put in the hard yards to maintain culture
and innovation without having everyone
working in the office every day.”
While there are costs and benefits for
each way of working, Hopkins stresses that
hybrid work is here to stay.
“Most people have formed new
behaviours, new ways of working and new
routines, and that flexibility is embedded
in their lives and their work,” he says.
“Rather than having a mandated number
of days, I think employees should be
encouraged to come to the office when
there’s a specific purpose for them to be
there — where there’s a valid reason and
where there’s a particular activity that
they’re going to be working on that works
better face-to-face.
“There’s always going to be high-profile
examples of companies that want their
employees back in the office again,”
Hopkins adds. “But we’ve got to remember
that we’re five years since the start of the
pandemic and working from home at least
for part of the week isn’t a novelty anymore.” ■
READ
PROPERTY SECTOR FEELS THE PINCH
The move to hybrid and fully remote working models has had a significant
impact on commercial real estate in cities across the globe.
In countries like Australia, the overall national vacancy rate fell slightly in
August 2024 to 14.6 per cent, but it remains above the historical average.
Matthew Kandelaars, group executive of policy and advocacy, Property Council
of Australia, says much of the commercial vacancy rate has been supply driven
rather than demand driven.
“When we were all required to work from home throughout the pandemic
lockdowns, a lot of commercial office stock was already under development,
particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, and obviously these are long-tail projects
that take five to 10 years from conception through to completion,” he says.
Kandelaars says there is a marked difference between vacancy rates in
premium-grade office stock in capital cities compared to older office stock.
“We’re in a phase where employers and our major cities need to earn
the commute more than ever before.”
46 INTHEBLACK March 2025
an article about
productivity in the
hybrid-work era
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