Corporate Real Estate Trends to Watch

Definition: A mature, data-driven workplace model that connects flexible work patterns, experience strategies and location factors for improved employee outcomes of performance and wellbeing.

The Reality: Employees broadly understand current attendance frameworks - 66% say their employer has a clear policy and 72% view it positively. But understanding doesn’t equal showing up. Support and compliance rise when the workplace feels worth the commute; resistance correlates with poor comfort, limited autonomy and weak wellbeing support. Put simply: people don’t reject the office-they reject bad office experiences and poor locations. 

Flexibility, in terms of location and working hours, has become a human need, not a perk. Work-life balance now outranks salary as the top retention driver (65%), and 57% say flexible hours would improve quality of life. This means the office must adapt to better support this new orchestration of work and life.

Meanwhile, experience itself is becoming more important as a lever to drive performance and is central to talent attraction and retention strategies. With burnout affecting 40% of workers globally and ‘always on’ challenges mounting, employers recognize that an effective workplace experience can directly impact productivity and mental wellbeing. Employers are challenged with needing to support flexibility while also addressing the hidden burden of hybrid work: the pressure for constant availability across physical and digital realms.

With more days in the office and work-life balance top of mind, the workplace’s location also becomes more vital for the employee experience. Globally, 67% of people value a workplace in a vibrant location, and this figure is highest in India (84%), the Middle East (78% KSA, 76% UAE) and China (77%). In geographies with rapidly expanding urban hubs and longer commute times, employees are keen to enhance the value of their working day.