Majority of Asia Pacific employees eyeing office return

MALAYSIA, July 22, 2020 – Employees across Asia Pacific have adapted to extensive work from home arrangements, but most are eager to return to the office. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic across Asia Pacific, an average of 68% of employees surveyed regionally worked from home. According to JLL, 61% of the same respondents working remotely said they missed going to the office and would favor a hybrid model combining more flexible work arrangements in the future.

JLL’s new Asia Pacific report Home and away: the new hybrid workplace? -LINK argues that employees consistently believed they while they enjoy the freedom of working from home, they miss the human interaction and face-to-face collaboration that working in a professional office environment provides. 

Millennials said they missed the office more than other age groups at 66% and highlighted the office experience's benefits: human interactions, professional environment, and place for focused work. Furthermore, 81% of Millennials strongly agreed that they felt technology ready, and 52% said they were more productive working from home. However, some could not afford accommodation with space and amenities vital for successful homeworking.

“Our employees in Malaysia has started to return to the office on split team basis since May 13, following the announcement of Malaysian government on the relaxation of regulations regarding the MCO, with its main goal to reopen the national economy in a controlled manner,” says YY Lau, Country Head of JLL Malaysia.

“Most of us have adapted to working from home leveraging on JLL technologies, but most of our employees still find the lack of human interactions and other challenges such as distractions from their family members and work facilities,” Lau added.

“Employees across Asia Pacific have successfully transitioned to remote working, but our interactions also suggest that many now crave the office environment's cultural and human experience. It is becoming clearer that the office is here to stay, but greater acceptance of remote working will force a new workplace model for many corporations regionally,” says Anthony Couse, CEO, Asia Pacific, JLL. 

The evolving expectations of employees for hybrid work arrangements will have clear implications for corporate real estate in establishing a shared purpose and culture, says JLL. Respondents surveyed revealed that 29% of employees in the region are very confident about their company’s future, and 27% were very confident in their own prospects. Millennials were even more optimistic on both counts (35% and 34%, respectively). 

As a result, respondents believe that employers have a responsibility to foster this sense of optimism, whether their teams are working from home or in the office and as businesses, enhance human performance and productivity wherever their workers are.

Key considerations for employers exploring a hybrid model include:

• Office space is here to stay: Higher acceptance of remote working will lead to a more distributed and diverse workforce but this will come with its own challenges on productivity and efficiency. Office space will continue to hold its importance, in most instances as the optimal working environment.
• Offices will be reimagined as social hubs: The office provides a culture that can’t be replicated via remote working and serves as a social hub for employees to connect on common goals, purpose and vision. Repurposed or redesigned work areas will be required to provide infrastructure for collaboration among the split teams of remote and on-site staff.
• Future footprint will facilitate choices and flexibility: Work from home saw many employees enjoy greater flexibility and control on their personal and professional lives. Corporates will have to redefine their real estate footprint, leveraging distributed and liquid spaces. Home offices, co-working places, satellite offices and the office HQ will all have to co-exist – leading to a truly hybrid office model.

“Offices will continue to play a central role in defining company culture, creating a shared purpose, and meeting employee needs for personal and professional fulfilment. However, COVID-19 will impact how the office looks and feels, as hybrid models comprising flexible work arrangements become mainstream,” says Roddy Allan, Chief Research Officer, Asia Pacific, JLL. 

JLL’s Home and away: the new hybrid workplace? -LINK was based on the views of 1,500 employees from five countries across Asia Pacific. Respondents were asked about the impact of extended periods of remote work, access to technology, and which changes in professional behaviour will become permanent.

About JLL

JLL is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL Network is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $18.0 billion in 2019, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of nearly 93,000 as of June 30, 2020.