COVID-19: WFH to impact office space demand in short-term, say experts

Office space demand may fall by 5-15 per cent as corporates look to adopt to work from home (WFH) policy, but offices will not lose their importance as remote working poses various challenges like data privacy and staff productivity, according to top officials of eight property consultants.

This minimal impact on office demand in the medium term could get compensated from additional space that corporates might need to maintain social distancing among staff andcontrol the spread of the coronavirus disease, they said.

In the post COVID-19 era, the demand for office space could rise from emerging sectors as well as new geographies, said these top consultants, who help corporates in leasing office space.

"Given that WFH challenges such as teamwork, performance management, productivity, creativity, data privacy, apartment sizes, office infrastructure and connectivity, we believe anywhere between 5-15 per cent of office demand could be impacted in the medium term," JLL India CEO and Country Head Ramesh Nair told PTI.

This loss of demand is also expected to get neutralised by de-densification and demand from post-COVID emerging industries, he added.

"Also anxiety, loneliness, stress and depression can impact adoption of WFH," Nair said.

Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said, "WFH will co-exist, but office space will not lose its importance as a strategic tool for corporate culture development and a source of competitive advantage."
Baijal said, "social distancing is here to stay, till a viable treatment for COVID-19 is found, which will require office users to maintain or acquire more space to accommodate the existing team."
Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, "Given the fact that the COVID-19 situation is fluid and ever evolving; it's too early to call anything a trend, as yet."
Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said, "WFH is not a catch-all solution - many business verticals and functions still require employees to work in an office setting."
Anshul Jain, MD (South East Asia and India), Cushman and Wakefield, said, "Our current situation has forced us to work from home and we all have done a splendid job without a doubt. But it was always clear that this was temporary, and there weren't any distractions."
However, Arnab Ghosh, National Director, Fitout at Colliers International India, said, "Work from home is a new reality today because of an unprecedented pandemic, but for it to be a norm, it needs to overcome quite a few social, cultural, and infrastructural challenges."