How is the office changing after Corona - a look into the future

February 22, 2022 | The office is transforming from a mere workplace into a meeting and communication place - this is the essence of the current Fraunhofer IAO study "Back to the Office".

The massive impact that the covid pandemic has had and is having on the global working world is tempting some observers to sing the office's death knell. Yet the facts speak otherwise. Few companies are planning to reduce their office space. But they will be used in a fundamentally different way in the future. The current study "Back to the Office," conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO on behalf of Engel & Völkers Commercial Berlin and the real estate developer Euroboden, shows what this change could look like.

Fresh ideas for inspiring spaces

In the future, employees will expect more decision-making autonomy when it comes to choosing their place of work, according to the survey of around a thousand people conducted in September 2021. While focused work is increasingly shifting to the private home, the office is gaining in importance as a place for communication. Having one's own desk in the company is becoming less important; desk-sharing concepts are predominantly viewed positively by respondents.

"In return, employees expect fresh ideas on how the office can productively promote personal contacts," says Aissatou Frisch-Baldé, head of office space leasing at Engel & Völkers Commercial Berlin. "Space is therefore likely to be increasingly repurposed - from classic desk and conference rooms to inspiring, informal meeting places." These don't necessarily have to be indoors; offering outdoor amenities such as terraces and gardens is one factor respondents favor.

Focus on sustainability rather than luxury

Sustainability is crystallizing as another factor that workers increasingly expect from their office. This makes them - along with regulators and investors - another driver of ESG (environmental, social, governance) criteria in real estate. For example, the study finds that employees overwhelmingly favor consideration of environmental criteria in building design and furnishings. In contrast, a luxurious environment at the workplace plays no role for most.

However, employees expect inspiration not only from the design of the building and furnishings, but increasingly also from the microenvironment. Neighborhoods are becoming increasingly important: Startups, for example, are looking for the environment of other young companies, creative professionals like to settle near other creative professionals, and private educational and research institutions prefer locations near universities or in the vicinity of young companies. If such criteria come to the fore more strongly than "hard" location factors such as transport links or co-price levels, companies' criteria for choosing a location could also change in the future. "A lively environment could then give city centers or neighborhoods advantages over classic office locations," says Frisch-Baldé.