In a compelling panel discussion at the recent Bucharest Business Forum, industry leaders explored the complex landscape of modern workplace dynamics, addressing the ongoing debate between remote work and return-to-office strategies.

Whilst significant ink has flowed in relation to the ‘E’ pillar from the vast ESG spectrum, the ‘S’ pillar is beginning to catch up in prominence particularly in the office sector across the UK and Continental Europe. Post-Covid behaviours have had a massive impact on the office offering and workforce demands - the office is by no means dead, but its role has certainly had a significant rethink, writes Mirela Calota, Director, Deal Advisory - Real Estate and Infrastructure at KPMG, in an article prepared for Property Forum.

Mindspace, the global provider of flexible boutique office space, has published the results of its global employee survey. The goal of the survey was to illuminate new work patterns and shed light on both current and aspirational employee dynamics. The results gave insights showing how the 9 to 5 job is a dying phenomenon and the hybrid model is here to stay - with employee flexibility being the key determinant in employee satisfaction.

Among four countries – Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, and Hungary, more than half of respondents claimed they work only from the office (52%), according to a survey conducted by Skanska's commercial development business unit in CEE. The number of such office workers increased compared to May 2021, especially in the Czech Republic and Poland. ​The preferred work model has not changed much since then, but in the Czech Republic more people want to work only from the office (22% vs 17% in May 2021).  

Despite almost all European office employees working from home last year, the empty workplaces did not lead to a reduction in the expenditure that companies had to fulfil had the workforce been in the office. The average costs per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) fell by only 2% and amounted to €9,468. These findings have been published by Colliers, Occupier Cost Index (OCI), which comprises data from 29 countries, 3,990 buildings, 26.1 million square meters of office space and 1.96 million FTEs.

Colliers introduced its latest research report about the post-COVID workplace as a continuation of its research after the report it produced a year ago leveraging data from over 5,000 respondents globally, evaluating the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the way we work.