In the aftermath of Covid-19 employers have grappled with how best to manage the need for space as their employees' return to the office. As time moves on, while it is clear that an element of hybrid working is here to stay, exactly what constitutes the ‘new normal' in terms of working patterns remains uncertain, says Erin Moffat, director and head of Real Estate Services in Jersey. 

Many employers and landlords are therefore considering new strategies to heighten the appeal of offices, and they're looking at increasing occupier comfort through key criteria centred on ESG and community as the main bargaining chip to pull staff away from those comfortable home offices. 

With only 47% of people intending to return to previous work patterns according to one recent survey, occupancy levels have become a burning issue for employers with long leases and landlords with older or less well-located stock, some of which is sitting unoccupied. As a result, it's increasingly important to understand employees' needs and wants and find ways to address them effectively for all parties.

One trend that is gaining momentum is the "hotelification" of offices, which involves creating spaces that are more like hotels or universities. This involves not just making office spaces more visually appealing and aesthetic to attract employees back, but also to make them feel good about being there by creating an atmosphere of community that cannot be replicated in a home working setting.

Employers are enhancing amenities such as gyms, coffee shops, and even rooftop terraces to make the office environment more appealing, and there is an increasing focus on design to deliver co-working and collaborative spaces that truly add to the experience of engaging with colleagues in person rather than online. 

By repurposing the same space for work and social, employers are providing different options for staff to work and interact with one another throughout the day beyond the traditional "water cooler chat" system. All these new spaces are being designed for both form and function, with employers also looking to enhance the visual appeal of offices, with a view to making them more "Instagrammable." 

This side of the pandemic, both owners and occupiers also want to understand how office buildings address all three pillars of the triple bottom line - profit, people, and planet. 

To ensure the well-being of both employees and the environment, people are actively seeking workplaces that adhere to more sustainable policies, driving aesthetic changes that are coupled with efficiency gains in running basic building services like heat, water, lighting and refuse management. 

The question of who will pay for these changes hasn't yet been settled, with occupiers looking at landlords to foot the bill and vice versa. Regardless of who pays, at this stage it seems clear that occupiers must use space more effectively to make the changes sustainable for the long-term.

One example of such heightened attention to aesthetics is Macquarie, an Australian multinational investment bank, which has been using the Internet of Things and human-centred design to enhance its offices. 

Macquarie's London office was designed by Clive Wilkinson and features cutting-edge technology seamlessly incorporated throughout the building, enabling employees to work more flexibly and connect with colleagues globally. 

Sensors are used to monitor space utilisation, temperature and air quality which helps fix problems and reconfigure under-used areas. The office design not only results in a ‘five-star hotel experience' for those passing through its doors, but importantly focusses on how it can help people feel, think and act in the best way possible to enhance their work experience.

Whether employers and landlords can work together to create more comfortable and visually appealing office spaces with strong ESG credential in order to attract employees back to the office remains to be seen and won't be without cost

By Erin Moffat, director and Head of Real Estate Services, in Jersey