CBRE's new pan-European survey has confirmed the success of the long-term effort of companies to attract employees back to their offices, with the best results achieved by large companies.
The "European Office Occupier Sentiment Survey" was conducted in April and May of this year, surveying the opinions of more than 120 companies across Europe, including the Czech Republic. The results show that the share of companies reporting an average utilisation of their premises between 41 and 80% has increased significantly to 61% of companies. Last year it was less than half (48%). At the same time, the share of companies that use their offices to a more limited extent decreased. Only a third are now using their offices at 40% or less, an improvement on nearly half of firms surveyed last year.
Large companies with 5,000 or more employees achieved the greatest success compared year-on-year. Almost two-thirds of them report space utilisation of at least 41%, which is caused not only by natural development but also by the growing number of companies that require the physical presence of people in the workplace. The survey found that 76% of companies have some form of workplace attendance regulation in place, 40% making it mandatory. At the same time, 17% of companies leave this decision to individual teams and their managers, so it is not widespread.
Although smaller companies show an overall lower utilisation of their premises, individual indicators related to employee attendance are also improving. This trend is even more pronounced for companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, where 31% of people go to work four to five days a week. Mondays and especially Fridays still have the lowest attendance rate.
Simon Orr, Head of the office sector at CBRE for the Czech Republic, comments: “The survey results show that offices are coming back to life. While many see current usage levels as stable, 30% of companies expect further growth. The hybrid way of working has become a common practice, but it remains a challenge to align the long-term expectations of employers with the ideas of their employees."
As for Czech conditions, Simon Orr adds: "Due to the shorter commute time, Prague was not nearly as negatively affected by the choice of employees to work from home as in other European capitals. Thanks to this, the use of Prague offices is again on the rise. People are primarily motivated by the social aspects of office work and the possibility of collaboration. At the same time, many employees realise that too much work from home can harm their psychological well-being and harm career growth."
Despite the positive indicators mentioned above, some companies are considering shrinking their portfolios. More than half of those surveyed (57% of companies) plan to downsize their offices in Europe over the next three years, which is likely related to the excess of space, especially among large companies, and the desire to reduce operating costs.
However, this approach is far from universal. 17% of companies plan to maintain their current volume of leased space and 24% intend to expand. There is also a positive outlook: the technology sector and flexi and serviced offices are thriving, driving local demand and ensuring that the vacancy rate in Prague remains low. In general, office buildings on the outskirts of cities are at greater risk of declining occupancy than amenity-rich central locations.
Most companies looking to downsize their portfolio intend to use lease expirations. However, 58% of respondents are willing to extend their current contract if it continues to meet their requirements. The trend is related to the increasing willingness of property owners to negotiate and provide more flexibility to tenants.
