Real estate leaders continue to see value in coworking

Cushman & Wakefield partnered with CoreNet Global, a worldwide association of corporate real estate executives, to survey more than 550 key commercial real estate executives at organizations around the world. Participants were asked about their general perceptions of the coworking sector, the pros and cons of using coworking, expected impacts on cost, and past and future employee utilization of flexible office spaces.

Key findings of the report include:

1. Nearly two-thirds of companies utilize coworking to some degree, and many respondents expect to double their commitment to coworking over the next five years.

“The results show that corporate leaders have a generally positive view of coworking and see flexible space as a growing part of their occupancy strategy,” said Tamás Polster, Head of Strategic Consulting EMEA in Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Occupier Services team. “The percentage of employees with access to flex space is on the rise and respondents on average plan to have 24% of their staff utilizing coworking on a regular basis within the next five years.

Tamás Polster

Head of Strategic Consulting EMEA, International Partner
Cushman & Wakefield

Tamás Polster is head of Cushman & Wakefield consulting services for EMEA. He has 21 years experience advising international organisations on their global operational portfolio and location strategies. Whilst focusing on Corporate Real Estate Tamás is leveraging his understanding of employment location dynamics to advise on large scale Urban Developments. Combining Real Estate with demographic and urban trends Tamás is leading DTZ new Web based Occupier Market Intelligence web portal “OccupierMetrics.dtz.com”. Tamás is a regular speaker at conferences on Corporate Real Estate Strategy and Urban development issues. Tamás is a chartered Surveyor (MRICS) holding master degrees in Real Estate from ESSEC in Paris and Architecture from ULB in Brussels. Tamás is currently based in Brussels and London.  More »

2. One-third of companies using flexible space report occupancy cost savings of more than 5 percent.

“Increasingly, corporate executives recognise that integrating flexible space into their strategy provides significant value in terms of talent attraction whilst reducing occupancy costs by enabling them to adapt to constant headcount variations,” added Polster.

3. Despite an overall positive view of coworking, CRE executives are realistic about the challenges for the workforce.

Approximately half (48 percent) of respondents see an increased difficulty in maintaining company culture and cohesion when workers are operating out of a shared, coworking location. In addition, a similar number of respondents cited digital security as a potential concern. It is worth noting that despite stated concerns from commercial real estate executives, national and global flexible workplace providers have a long track record of providing clients with access to necessary digital security mechanisms. Additionally, companies are 50 percent more likely to indicate coworking is an opportunity to increase employee satisfaction than it is a likely deterrent to employee engagement, job satisfaction or efficiency.

In February 2019 Cushman & Wakefield released a report on the flexible offices in Poland, which emphasizes the growing importance of such values as community, openness, collaboration and accessibility. The dynamic development of the coworking sector in Poland began less than seven years ago, although the industry itself has been present in Poland for about 20 years.