Flexibility Will Keep Companies Afloat In An Uncertain New Year

The global workforce is entering 2022 as uncertain as it entered 2021. 

As new variants of Covid-19 spread across the world, companies have been forced to indefinitely delay their plans to return to the office.  

With companies small and large adopting a wait-and-see approach, flexibility will swoop in to become the savior of workplace limbo in 2022. 

“We believe that it will be very much like what transpired in the second half of 2021 where companies remained cautious about mandating workers to return to the office,” said Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore.  

According to Cheong, companies will correct their leasing strategy, taking up short-term leases that range from three to five years. While this means incorporating flexible offices and coworking spaces as part of their office footprint, companies will also look into adopting more private space in 2022. 

According to CBRE Research from the third quarter of 2021, as companies reconsider their portfolio and adopt hybrid work models, some space will return to the market. 

As a result, landlords will likely adjust their offerings in the new year, with some even teaming up with flexible office operators to provide tenants with more fluidity in their leases and how they use the space. 

According to Tricia Song, head of research at CBRE Southeast Asia, 2022 will see “more landlords providing flex solutions within their portfolios either through third party operators, joint ventures or self-managed facilities.”