Office space requirement to shrink,thanks to technology:Survey -Governance Now

Office space requirement to shrink,thanks to technology:Survey

The study, titled, 'VWork - Measuring the benefits of agility at work', noted that only 7 per cent of the respondents predicted an increase in the space required.

PTI | June 2, 2011

The requirement of office space is expected to shrink substantially in the near future, thanks to the increased use of technologies by businesses worldwide.

According to a joint study by office space provider Regus and research firm Unwired, out of 600 executives surveyed around the world, nearly 60 per cent of respondents from large organisations predicted a decrease in the need for office space as a result of future work styles.

Innovative technologies such as video conferencing are making inter-personal, as well as business communications faster and easier.

The study, titled, 'VWork - Measuring the benefits of agility at work', noted that only 7 per cent of the respondents predicted an increase in the space required.

Moreover, over half of the respondents (51 per cent) indicated that the office will become a place for occasional use.

"As the utilisation of an office today is typically only 45 per cent, empty desks no longer make sense in a world where mobility and agility will become accepted by people as the most effective and sustainable way of working," Unwired CEO Philip Ross said.

The survey was done to highlight how companies are responding to agile working.

Besides, 71 per cent of those surveyed believe that younger workers and the generation still at school, will be more accepting of virtual working and reject the traditional office.

While working virtually is getting more importance, only 12 per cent of people surveyed would like to work from home.

"It will be critical for companies to find a new measure for the cost of 'provisioning work' that leaves behind the traditional approaches of rent and rates in a 'per square foot' fixed world," Ross added.

Interestingly, the majority of the large enterprises surveyed have already rolled out new ways of working and said they no longer struggle to work effectively outside the workplace.

Further, 79 per cent of respondents feel they have the right technology to be productive in their workplace and increasingly are being given technology enablers to be able to work from any location.

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