Cancellation of office rents in central Tokyo and reduction of area due to introduction of telework

Cancellation of office rents and reduction of area due to introduction of telework May 16 at 16:50

Along with the introduction of telework to prevent the spread of new coronaviruses, companies are moving to cancel rental contracts for offices in central Tokyo or reduce the area.

The number of companies introducing telework has increased, and the number of employees working at offices has decreased, in response to the request to refrain from going out due to the spread of new coronavirus infection.

Under such circumstances, according to a real estate company that deals with many office properties in the central part of Tokyo, a consultation from a venture company since the middle of last month that they would like to cancel the rental contract for the central part of the city is about four times that of January. In addition to being sent, it is said that there are moves among major companies to cancel the plan to expand the office area.

In the background, telework works more than expected, and the need for an office where employees can come to work is beginning to be reconsidered, so Takashi Nakanishi, a real estate company at office, said, `` A shared office without paying high rent. It is expected that there will be a move to utilize such things as the offices in the city center have begun to shift from an expansion trend to a decentralized contraction. "

Regarding this move, Kaoru Yoshino, a real estate economist at Japan Real Estate Institute, said, "I don't think that the spread of telework will make offices unnecessary, but the function has changed from a work space to a place of communication, and rather such a role has been reviewed. There is also a possibility that it will be. ”

At a company that decides to cancel the office rental contract ...

Since late March, in principle, a company in Tokyo Chiyoda-ku, which has teleworked all employees, decided to cancel the rental contract for some offices on the 11th, because the efficiency of the work has improved. Notified the employee.

At the energy-related venture company "ENE-CHANGE" in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100 employees in late March, in principle, were all teleworked, and then regularly surveyed the ease of work. By late last month, more than 90% of employees said they were more productive or just as productive as before.

For this reason, the company decided that telework could improve work efficiency, so it decided to cancel part of the office and notified the employees on the 11th.

We will cancel the room used by the engineer and the meeting space where all employees gather at once, and we will only provide seats for half of the employees in the future, and even after the infection of the new coronavirus has ended, employees will be weekly. It means that I will be teleworking for 2 to 5 days.

It also means that the office will have a dedicated space with several chairs and monitors in preparation for more meetings using the Internet.

“We want to use the office as a place for communication, assuming telework,” said Yohei Shiroguchi, chairman of ENE-CHANGE. Although the new coronavirus will have a great impact on society and the economy, we will realize future work styles one step ahead. I want to use it as a trigger. "