According to recent research, the office still rules despite the demonstrated benefits of working full-time remote.
This week, Ernst & Young LLP published its third annual EY Future Workplace Index, a nationwide study that offers perceptions of US company C-suites.
The poll is full of insightful information, ranging from using AI in the workplace to reinventing casual Fridays. Nonetheless, an exceptional discovery indicates a noteworthy departure from remote employment throughout the past 12 months.
These figures contradict studies that demonstrate stronger revenue growth for organizations with remote working practices or that 4-day workweeks and flexible scheduling benefit employers and employees.
A Shift From Working Fully Remote
It’s no secret that the corporate real estate industry is still becoming established after three years on shaky ground; employers are currently experimenting with flexible, remote, hybrid, and four-day workweek work patterns.
Nonetheless, the EY Future Workplace Index indicates that the sharply divergent opinions appear to be eroding in favor of requirements for employees to work from home.
Respondents to an EY US poll stated that the percentage of full-time remote workers has decreased from 34% in 2022 to just 1% in 2023.
Similarly, 99% of respondents said they mandated that workers report to work two or more days a week, and 32% said they required three days. Merely 1% of staff members are requested to visit the office once a week.
Is Corporate Real Estate Growth Inevitable?
For those in corporate real estate, these findings do offer a glimmer of home, even though they may disappoint workers who have been able to better balance work and personal goals because of increased autonomy and flexibility.
The decline in entirely remote employment suggests that office towers and parks will probably begin to reappear. The real estate brokers as well as the nearby retail and hotel establishments will benefit monetarily from this on its own.
That’s not all, though. Francisco J. Acoba, Co-Lead for Corporate Real Estate Consulting and Technology at EY Americas, believes that having more employees in the workplace could also increase productivity.
“Even though corporate budgets continue to bear the whole cost of these expenses, dark workplaces have the unintended effect of casting doubt on employees and creating uncertainty in the marketplace. In the last three years, we’ve learned a lot about effective working practices, and it’s starting to become obvious that the majority of workplace models gain by having the office lights on.
Approximately 80% of businesses stated that during the previous 24 months, employee productivity has increased “somewhat or much.” On the other hand, about 28% of executives believed that workers who work from home are just as productive.
More Survey Highlights
The debate about working from home vs the office continues, but the Index results also offered some fascinating perspectives in other areas.
Though cautiously, the use of AI in the workplace is being welcomed. AI is being used, according to 44% of respondents, to “collect data to maximize and optimize their office space.” The main goal of this is to effectively balance places for collaboration and individual work that cater to the needs of different user types.
In a similar vein, 38% said they wanted to “track the office’s sustainability and energy efficiency using artificial intelligence.” Merely 2% of participants indicated that they either don’t use AI or are unsure.
In other places, the topic of rolling back Monday through Thursday workweeks was hot, with the number of companies adopting four-day workweeks dropping from 21% to 18% since the previous year. However, there is still optimism, since 24% of respondents are still thinking about switching to a four-day workweek.
Even after reading the study and new trends, if you’re still adamant about flexible work arrangements, our advice on how to request remote work might be useful.
