{"id":1004212032,"date":"2014-03-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-14T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cpe-uncategorized\/john-hampton-todays-workplace-evolution-tomorrows-real-estate-strategy-proworking-in-2014\/1004212032.html"},"modified":"2020-04-06T06:25:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T14:25:31","slug":"john-hampton-todays-workplace-evolution-tomorrows-real-estate-strategy-proworking-in-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/john-hampton-todays-workplace-evolution-tomorrows-real-estate-strategy-proworking-in-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"John Hampton: Today’s Workplace Evolution, Tomorrow’s Real Estate Strategy: Proworking in 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For a growing percentage of the workforce, “going to work” no longer translates as “going to the office.” With most corporate office space vacant for nearly half of an average day\u2014according to numerous industry studies\u2014and nearly a billion square feet of U.S. office space sitting empty, it is clear that mobility is king. With 79 percent of U.S. companies planning to increase mobile workplace options, the\u00a0question for commercial property decision-makers is not whether to embrace mobility, but how and when. A new approach to aligning work and place can help balance supply and demand in the corporate real estate portfolio, putting millions of square feet of currently-unoccupied space back into productive use.<\/p>\n

Pressure to become more fluid\u2014and more productive<\/strong><\/p>\n

By many accounts, the mobile workforce represents a dramatic change in the way we work. Lightweight devices, new communications technologies and ubiquitous wireless connectivity are freeing workers from fixed desks, while new millennial workers are seeking life\/work balance and social engagement.<\/p>\n

For corporate real estate executives, these trends coincide with rising pressures for real estate to become a value driver. As JLL\u2019s 2013 biannual Global Corporate Real Estate Trends<\/em><\/a> reports, 72 percent of global companies now expect real estate to drive workplace productivity. Companies are pressured to increase space utilization, with 31 percent citing a reduction in the size of their real estate portfolios during the last three years, while 56 percent of corporate real estate executives report increased C-suite demand to bring more flexibility to their corporate real estate portfolios.<\/p>\n

Proworking and the consumerization of corporate real estate<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does this mismatch of supply and demand mean for corporate real estate portfolio strategy? Some forward-looking companies are adopting a new approach, known as \u201cproworking,\u201d focused on worker enablement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkplace\u201d has taken on a new meaning, now referring to workplaces both within and outside of a company\u2019s portfolio of leased or owned properties. With the consumerization of corporate real estate, mobile workers prefer a menu of workplace options rather than a fixed location\u2014and become more productive when they are empowered to select the best workplace for the task, when and where they need it. Forward-looking companies are giving workers more workplace options, just as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies allow workers to use their preferred devices.<\/p>\n

As many corporations have learned, the traditional own-or-lease corporate real estate model can limit the ability to provide more options and to respond to changing conditions. Whether a company is growing rapidly or reshaping its global footprint, the traditional corporate real estate model constrains capital in long-term leases or mortgage commitments, interferes with monetization of unused space, and creates inflexible structures for both landlords and their corporate tenants. Solutions that can offer shorter-term and more fluid usage models are needed.<\/p>\n