Demand for flexible work

Central business districts are recognised by their skylines featuring impressive structures such as the Empire State Building in New York or London’s Shard, and the same can be said of many city centres across Britain.

These large buildings draw a huge cross-section of workers into the heart of cities.

But, earlier this year, a pandemic descended and central business districts became ghost towns overnight.

Surveys have since been conducted by businesses asking employees if they would prefer to work from home after this crisis is over.

CBRE found only 6% wanted to return to the office full-time, only 10% wanted to work mostly from the office, 28% thought they would prefer an equal mix of home and office, 28% thought they wanted three or more days a week of remote working and 28% thought they wanted to be fully remote.

Many larger enterprises are adopting flexible working policies that move away from relying on a single central office, and inc rea s ing ly o f fe r employees the opportunity to work in flexible suburban spaces and/or from home.

According to Colliers, demand for flexible workspace in suburban areas saw a significant increase in the first half of 2020.

In the outskirts of city centres, demand increased to 52% compared with 38% the year before and demand for flexible workspace in fur ther outlying areas increased to 16% compared with 12% in previous years.

Research by IWG suggests more than 80% of workers worldwide would turn down a job that did not offer flexible working.

Bu t many la rge companies believe there is still a future for central business districts.

Cities tend to attract better talent, particularly younger people who prefer to meet and socialise, so it is no coincidence that tech giants Fa c e b o o k and Amazon have decided to invest in New York’s central business district.

When things do return to something approaching normal, remote working will also be normal.

In the future, going to the office may involve a short journey to a local business hub.

B u t f o r m an y organisations, the central business district will still be where employees converge, though this may only be for a few days a week for some.

Central business districts such as London will still have an important role to play.