IWG-owned Regus conducted a study that found flexible offices moving beyond metro areas could contribute over $254 billion to local economies over the next decade.

The study analyzed the benefits for local economies in secondary cities in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S.

The research found that an average of 121 new jobs are created in communities that have flexible offices, which have added $9.63 million into the local economy.

“This rise in local working is being largely driven by big companies adopting flexible working policies, moving away from relying on a single, central HQ and increasingly basing employees outside of the major metropolitan hubs in flex spaces,” the company stated. “Most are doing so to improve employee wellbeing by allowing their people to work closer to home, and also to save money and boost productivity.”

The analysis also found that the average flexible workspace will generate $16.47 million in Gross Value Add (GVA) each year. In India in particular, the average flex space will generate $3.44 million GVA each year, with $1.4 million of that going into local economies.