Employees are not going back to the office 100 percent full time. Those days are over thanks to the pandemic.
Even with hybrid workplaces, that doesn’t mean every employee will be in the office at some point. Many are finding they are more productive working from home or want to move farther away and simply telecommute. Whatever the reason, office buildings are going to have an abundance of empty space.
Of course, unused space doesn’t make sense. It’s a waste of money and resources.
Coinciding with this trend is the fact that the housing market is booming, meaning many employees moved from the cities to the suburbs during the pandemic. Plus, the main reason employees don’t want to return to the office is the commute. It’s not the workplace or the risk of being around people. It’s the time wasted traveling to work.
In the three-minute video below, retail economist and COO of Lockehouse Retail Group Garrick Brown explains the future of office space: co-working at the mall. Companies are going to keep a hybrid schedule by only requiring employees to come in occasionally. And companies are going to reduce the commute by bringing the office to employees by moving to the suburbs.
As Brown argues, “there's nothing better for the amenities than I'm (working) at Arden Fair (mall) and we can go to PF Changs for lunch.”
Brown says almost every major co-working company is looking into this trend.
