Work will never be the same again and that means the way we look at residential property has also changed.
Research carried out by Slack discovered that most of the 4,700 workers questioned NEVER want to go back to the old 9-5 slog – sorry Dolly!
It showed that only 12% want to return to full-time office work, with 72% keen to stick with a hybrid remote-office model moving forward.
But how is that affecting the property market?
As we make new choices about how we work, we also need to consider how we live.
This rise in people working flexibly is changing what tenants and homeowners prioritise in properties.
In some cases, homes now need to offer the space and functionality for more than one person to work from home at any one time.
Our expectations now include greater flexibility, digital connectivity as well as that dedicated workspace away from living and dining areas.
In the 2020 Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £5bn of investment to be put towards connectivity. This will involve putting full-fibre and gigabit capable networks into every home and business during the next five years.
Additionally, the government has agreed a £1bn deal with the mobile phone industry to boost network coverage in “not spots”.
A dedicated and well-furnished home office can add value as more people look for this in a property, whether they’re renting or buying.
And some build-to-rent developments even have co-working spaces to help meet the needs of a growing number of people working flexibly.
As additional UK employers offer options for professionals to work from home, landlords and investors who provide office space and high-speed internet in their properties could see higher returns and less void periods.
A study by Lloyds showed that out of those already working from home on a part or full time basis, almost a third use a dedicated home office.
And 72% of regular home workers stated they customised their space to work from at home, proving that many are willing to invest and pay extra to improve their home working environment.
Of course, this shift to the hybrid way of working will impact heavily on commercial landlords.
Many large office blocks have lain dormant for months and we can expect to see more people working in smaller serviced or open plan co-working spaces when they do start emerging from their home office.
Office design will need to innovate in response and provide facilities to help workers carry on as they have been doing, providing more of a home from home feel than ever before.
Greater value will be placed on spaces that allow for more natural interactions such as coffee bars, open lounges and event spaces as well as private spaces able to accommodate video conferencing.
With a greater emphasis on health and wellbeing we may even see the implementation of sleep pods, quiet study areas, cinema rooms, fitness studios, complemented by showers and changing facilities.
It’s not just the floor space and layout that needs to be addressed, we can expect to see commercial landlords embracing a more sustainable approach to design as well as embracing more natural lighting, clean air monitoring and even interior gardens – all innovations that will take on renewed importance.
While we can’t be certain of what the future holds, we can be certain that every area of our lives will be altered in some way, and this will most definitely include the way we search for – and use – home and workspace.
And it’s up to business leaders, property developers and landlords to embrace the change and lead the way when it comes to adopting this hybrid way of working.
