Locatee utilization data highlights global CRE trends
As business leaders around the world continue exploring avenues for innovation as they adapt to the future of commercial workspaces, data is proving to be an incredibly valuable resource. Work-from-home (WFH) and work-from-anywhere (WFA) models have helped many of these companies survive the ongoing pandemic while retaining their employees, but the widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccine and new safety measures have cleared a path for a possible return to the office. Regardless of whether business leaders decide to bring employees back full-time, maintain their current operations or pursue a hybrid model, detailed analytics will undeniably play a significant role in analyzing the effectiveness of their solutions.
Locatee provides workplace analytics and thought leadership on a global scale, using its adaptable technology to measure, analyze and optimize a building’s operations. Additionally, the company frequently releases reports, surveys, white papers and other studies that grant comprehensive overviews of the commercial market using data that draws from its vast portfolio of clients. This information allows Locatee to not only determine where its services are most needed but also to share with the industry key data points that identify trends and trajectories around the world.
Sudden Impact, Record Lows
Recently, Locatee released data that tracks commercial workplace utilization on a monthly basis since January 2020, disaggregating it across the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In the United States, this information helps visualize how incredibly impactful the pandemic lockdown was; between March 6th and March 25th of 2020, average workplace utilization plummeted from around 60 percent to nearly zero, as seen below:
What followed was a period of stagnancy, with workplace utilization failing to reach even 10 percent until May 21st of this year. It was also around this time that Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, publicly stated at the American Thoracic Society’s 2021 virtual conference that the real-world evidence of vaccines against COVID-19 was better than expected. With more Americans gaining faith in the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine, a slow-but steady increase in office utilization began around this period–a trajectory that continues today.
A New Normal
However, it is unclear when office utilization figures will return to their January 2020 numbers, if ever. In fact, should the utilization rate continue to increase at its current rate, this would not happen for another several years. This is due to a cautious approach to return to office operations, with the delta variant remaining a concern despite the vaccine’s availability and some workers’ unwillingness to return to the status quo. Even now, with vaccine rates above 50 percent of the population since this summer, the data only reflects a very slight increase in office presence in locations across the country. There is evidence on both sides of the “return to office” debate, with arguments citing the increased productivity that WFH and WFA models encourage alongside the societal and communicative benefits of being in a physical workspace. To make matters more complex, some companies embraced WFA models to the extent that they began hiring workers in other states or countries, making a full “return” to office impossible.
This slow increase may also reflect corporations’ use of this delay to better prepare for hybrid workspaces. The “new normal” requires a number of investments from corporations, ranging from the digital workspace to the transformation of the physical office to accommodate new ways of working.
“We have observed a cautious approach to returning to work in the United States, characterized by constantly low office utilization rates,” said Thomas Kessler, Locatee CEO. “While these approaches have inherent costs – financial, but also cultural – for the organization, they also represent an opportunity to develop the organization’s capacities behind the scenes to deliver a best-in-class workplace experience to employees when they come back. This requires significant transformation – adapting the workplace, making workplace planning user-centric, becoming agile in the approach to space. And for these changes to be meaningful and effective, collecting the proper workplace data is critical.”
The Global Scale
The U.S. trends in workspace utilization can also be seen in varying degrees around the world. While every country presented in Locatee’s data indicated the steep March 2020 drop-off, some countries were quicker to attempt a return to office. In many cases–particularly across Europe–this resulted in utilization rates dwindling once again as the pandemic became worse with time. In terms of the climb back to pre-pandemic rates, however, many of these countries are currently seeing higher figures than the U.S.:
While the data in Africa, the Americas and Australia closely mirrored the U.S.’s, Asia’s was significantly more varied. There, the March 2020 decline was not as steep for South Korea and Singapore, and these countries generally began returning to commercial workspaces almost immediately. Similar to Europe, this resulted in numerous dips over the next two years despite a clear indication that businesses were attempting to get back into the office as quickly as possible. These numbers continue to fluctuate even today, making it difficult to predict how the delta variant and new safety measures will affect the area’s commercial market:
Data: The Common Denominator
Ultimately, Locatee’s data shows that no country was spared the tremendous impact that COVID-19 had on the commercial workplace. Where they differ lies in how each country reacted to it; some decided to wait out the pandemic while others attempted to maintain business operations as usual, to varying results. The importance of data, however, remains the common denominator. By providing a comprehensive overview of workplace utilization on a monthly basis since the pandemic began, Locatee has empowered commercial markets and leaders across the globe to make more informed decisions going forward.
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