CBRE Global Survey: Most Workers Prefer Combination of In-Office and Remote Work

Companies Likely Will Include Employee Feedback In Workplace Planning as Offices Reopen

A CBRE survey of 10,000 office-using workers at companies across the globe found that, after several months of working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many want to work remotely at least two or three days a week going forward.

The survey’s findings show that most employees desire a fluid work arrangement in which the physical office remains a key venue due to the advantages it traditionally has provided. Most respondents said they would like to return to the office regularly for face-to-face collaboration and access to tools and technology only available there, among other reasons.

CBRE’s survey, conducted from June to August, spanned roughly 10,000 respondents across 32 companies in 18 countries. Employee sentiment often is taken into account as companies determine short and long-term real estate strategies.

“Employees and employers alike recognize that a more fluid way of working – with employees regularly shifting between various work venues – is the way of the future,” said Su-Zette Sparks, Managing Director of CBRE’s Workplace practice. “Companies are likely to adapt their physical offices to that shift, often through a more holistic approach, such as adding more unassigned, free-address seating in the office coupled with a remote-work strategy to accommodate fluctuating occupancy.”

Among the key findings of CBRE’s global survey:

• More than 90 percent of employees and managers reported that they perceive working from home as “about the same” or more productive than working from the office.
• Eighty-five percent of respondents prefer to work remotely at least two to three days a week.
• The top benefits cited for working in the office are team connection and community (62 percent), face-to-face collaboration (61 percent), and access to tools, tech and meeting spaces (44 percent).
• Many employees express interest in occasionally working from satellite offices opened near their homes. Respondents’ interest in this option increased in relation to the length of their commute to the main office.
• Most managers indicated that a hybrid model in which part of their team works remotely on a full-time basis was either “acceptable” or “preferred.”

“The gradual return to the workplace has sparked a fundamental rethinking of work practices for employees and their employers to find mutually ideal arrangements,” Ms. Sparks said. “Companies will factor in employee sentiment and preferences as they determine the best course forward.”

To read the full report, click here.