Global organisations continue to recognise the value and importance of office space

The physical footprint remains important for team building and collaboration, suggests a new report by Workplace platform Envoy that found more than half of workplace leaders (54 per cent) invested more in the workplace in 2022 than in the previous year.

The At Work: 2023 workplace trends report, a comprehensive state of the physical workplace compiled and designed for workplace leaders around the world found that workplace foot traffic grew by 37 per cent in 2022 over the previous year, and on average, the number of hybrid-first employees going into the workplace weekly jumped by 164 per cent in 2022.

However, 82 per cent of employees visiting the workplace in a given week were hybrid-first, which is defined as going onsite one to three days. Just 18 per cent were office-first where employees went to the office more than three days in a given week.

Organisations also recognised the value and importance of office space with 82 per cent of leaders investing in their workplaces last year and 54 per cent setting aside more money for their workplaces in 2022 compared to 2021

Investment in office efficiency is key, as 63 per cent of leaders said they invested in conferencing technology, such as monitors and cameras, to improve communication between those remote and those onsite. Half (50 per cent) invested in onsite events; 36 per cent into visitor management; and 27 per cent into space management. Even with headlines proclaiming a commercial real estate slowdown, nearly a quarter (24 per cent) invested in real estate expansion last year.

The report also suggests that this year, workplace leaders plan to spend their budgets on making sure employees have a great experience onsite, with 36 per cent planning for more onsite events and 24 per cent providing more food.

83 per cent of companies reconfigured their workspace to optimise for employee experience. Many added more collaboration spaces (36 per cent), more desks (23 per cent) and more meeting rooms (22 per cent). 19 per cent made cost-saving decisions and reduced their real estate footprint with fewer desks (11 per cent) and meeting rooms (4 per cent).

More than half (58 per cent) of meeting rooms are booked a month or more in advance. 33 per cent are booked the day-of, allowing for impromptu or spontaneous meetings.

Despite 81 per cent of employees scheduling their office days the morning before heading in or even as they’re walking up to the front door, 58 per cent of meeting rooms are still booked a month or more in advance. Employees know they need to reserve coveted meeting space ahead of time – especially recurring meetings – to prevent wrangling for space at the last minute.

Said Larry Gadea, CEO and Founder of Envoy. “While leaders may not agree on how to spend their workplace budgets, there is a common thread. The success of their business depends on their people. And there’s no better place to bring your people together to solve problems, to collaborate, to ideate, to celebrate wins, and to get work done, than a familiar workplace.”