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The corona crisis will have a significant impact on the use of office space.
Because the home office will establish itself as an integral part of the world of work, offices should be designed much more efficiently in the future.
In addition, the proportion of meeting rooms will increase, while your own desk will be a thing of the past.
This is the result of a survey by the international real estate service provider Catella among executives in the German real estate industry from 2020, which WELT is available.
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Around 67 percent of those surveyed in the real estate industry expect a decline in quantitative land use, and 21 percent even expect a "strong" or "very strong" decrease.
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After all, 41 percent expect employees to work “flexibly” for one or two days in the future, not in the office, but on the move or at home.
Almost 25 percent expect two to three flexible working days.
“The traditional value creation processes at a desk in a defined time window no longer exist in their pure form,” is the conclusion of the Catella experts.
The company has several branches of business, advises developers and investors and builds new office buildings itself.
The survey on corona consequences and home office was carried out among 750 executives in the real estate industry - decision-makers who either rent space themselves, develop them or make them fit for the future.
"We have to let go"
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The digitization of the working world had already caused permanent change in our offices.
Teamwork and flatter hierarchies changed the floor plan in many companies.
The home office, however, was mostly just a promise by the HR department that many employees could not or would not keep.
The corona crisis is now accelerating all processes, but above all ensuring that the home office becomes socially acceptable.
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“Executives initially thought they would lose control,” says Thomas Beyerle, Managing Director at Catella Property Valuation.
"But that did not happen because many employees act more independently than expected." In the meantime, many people came back to the offices.
The previous normality will not return, says Beyerle.
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And last but not least, that applies to the personal workplace.
“The German worker always wanted his own desk.
That was the paradigm for decades, ”says Beyerle.
Now, however, the shared workplace, the shared desk, will finally prevail.
"As for your own desk with coffee cup and pen holder, I say: we have to let go."
Klaus-Peter Hesse, spokesman for the management of the Central Real Estate Committee (ZIA), adds: "Even if it is now 'back to the office': We expect structural changes in the world of work as a result of the Corona crisis.
Employers and employees find that it can be an advantage not to have to commute to the office every day during rush hour. ”More workspaces would be created in rural areas and on the outskirts.
"The shuttle traffic," says Hesse, "will tend to decrease, which might even be good in terms of relieving the traffic systems."
The office becomes a meeting place
Changing land use is not something that happens within a few months.
Many leases are medium-term, and companies will change their concepts with a corresponding delay.
According to Beyerle's observations, however, the preparations have long been underway.
"For 2022/23, when the five-year leases are extended, I expect significant effects," he says.
"Then the contracts that were negotiated in the high-price years 2018/19 are up for discussion.
I don't expect a drop in prices.
But the number of square meters will change significantly. "
However, the corona-related forced stay at home work also showed how important regular personal encounters are.
When asked what managers and employees missed most in the first lockdown phase, 41 percent answered that they lacked the technical office equipment.
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But an overwhelming 94 percent - multiple answers were possible here - said they had missed direct face-to-face contact.
For Beyerle, the conclusion is that there will still be office space.
However, with slightly smaller areas on the one hand and on these areas with a higher proportion of meeting rooms on the other.
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"The meeting room in the office will become more important," said Beyerle.
The office is changing from the place where you sit in your chair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to a meeting place.
For this, the employees have to ensure at their own expense that they have enough space to work at home.
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The travel culture is also likely to change, however.
If you follow the statements of the Catella survey, there will be far fewer national and international business trips in the future that are "time-consuming":
72 percent of those questioned fully or partially agreed with the statement that there will be fewer national business trips.
74 percent expect fewer international business trips.
The office workers in Germany will have to be prepared for even more working hours at home.
This article was first published in July 2020.