Work experience

Take-up of office space in London's West End in January 2022 was up by 304% compared to the year before, significantly exceeding all expectations.  However, we believe office up-takes will begin to slow again as businesses start rethinking the way they structure their real estates. Landlords therefore need to think hard about how they can attract their tenants back into the office.

We look at two approaches where landlords can develop a strategy that will attract end user tenants:

Repositioning of a building
Pragma have identified the key features that characterise successful office-led developments globally and these features contribute to creating a scheme where tenants want to occupy space and where their employees want to work and spend time.

Office spaces need to facilitate convenience and convergence for employees such as the Second Home offices (seen above) in Hackney. Convenient facilities are incorporated into the office, such as an on-site nursery, a reception and mailroom service, a café with an outside courtyard, as well as bicycle parking.

With the rise in remote hybrid working, flexibility and digitalisation in the workplace has been an ever-growing trend and is essential for seamless office design and experiences. Digitalisation enhances contactless environments and remote working. The Alibaba Headquarters in China consists of 1.6m ft² of flexible, open plan office space, integrated with outdoor and communal spaces within the campus. Technology is seamlessly incorporated into the campus design, including facial recognition access, autonomous vehicles, and an automated hotel.

Covid has also kick-started a big trend towards positive employee work and life balance and therefore landlords need to consider health and wellbeing when repositioning an office space. The increase in campuses offering sport facilities, wellbeing centres, and healthcare facilities is significantly growing such as the Nike Headquarters in Shanghai which houses a football pitch, indoor basketball court, and state-of-the art fitness facilities. The Deliveroo London office provides facilities such as rest areas, nap caves, hammock park and meditation / yoga rooms.

Providing amenities to employees that go beyond a simple office desk and staff kitchen will make an employee’s commute into work more worthwhile and lead to higher office satisfaction. Apple Park in California is a best-in-class example of a campus offering great on-site amenities for employees. It features 3.2 km of walking and running tracks, as well as 1,000 bikes to commute between the buildings, underground staff parking, seven cafes, and an Apple store.

Increasingly popular developments globally encourage "live, work, play"allowing employees to run errands, work and seek entertainment in one space. One Bangkok in Thailand which is currently being designed by SOM and completion date is 2025. The integrated "city-within-a-city" district is a mixed-use development and an example of "live, work, play". It will comprise 19.4 million ft² of office buildings, luxury hotels, retai, hospitality and residential space.

Be innovative
In addition to landlords being more innovative through design, it is important to consider what other ways landlords can help create an environment that encourages and facilities employees to deliver the best work possible. What can be done to help end users innovate, connect, and interact more within the office building?

Firstly, creating more connection between different floors within an office building will help employees interact and mingle. To facility this, landlords need to become more flexible in allowing for minor temporary construction work.

Creating a calendar of networking events can also inspire employees to interact and connect more and landlords need to be more generous with providing exhibition spaces and events spaces to facilitate innovation within a number of different workforces.

With the rise of the conscious consumer, employees are becoming more aware of their social and environmental responsibility. To inspire employees to become more sustainable landlords are increasingly providing Green Leases. These ensure that the landlord and the occupier undertake responsibilities with regards to the sustainable operation and occupation of a property, for example: energy efficiency measures, waste reduction, and water efficiency.

Millions of square metres of office space globally are in urgent need of repositioning to bring them in line with the principles mentioned above. While not every office needs a table tennis table, the correlation between impromptu interactions and innovation is strong, so spaces and programmes that encourage connection and communication throughout the building will provide a winning solution for all.

If you'd like more information on Pragma's workplace offering, simply reply to this email or click here.

Jemima Scott