Still working from home? This office just might lure you back

livemint.com:

2024 India Office Occupier Survey conducted by property consultancy CBRE India, occupiers want to move to high-quality office buildings to attract and retain top talent and enhance employee experience. In 2023, 46% of office leasing took place in buildings less than three years old; 57% relocated to buildings constructed post 2020; and 30% of occupiers wanted to expand flexible office usage, as per the survey. “There is a change in mindset.

Tenants want better amenities, centrally located offices, more natural light, social infrastructure. They don’t mind paying more rent, but they want to create employee stickiness," said Ram Chandnani, managing director, advisory and transactions services, at property consultancy CBRE India. Improved amenities, social infrastructure and the overall workspace experience have a direct link to office occupancy.

For instance, after real estate developer DLF Ltd opened ‘The Hub’, a 200,000 sq. ft space that offers entertainment, eateries and a wellness centre in Cyber City, Chennai, employee occupancy levels went up to 90%. While commercial office leasing has picked up, uncertainty still looms over actual occupancy in workspaces.

Tech companies in cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad are still struggling to make employees report to the office. In this scenario, top developers said tenants—both multinational and domestic—want to offer better and smart offices for the workforce so they come to work a few times a week. ‘Return to work: Make your workplace more than just a place where you work,’ says real estate developer DLF Ltd on the website of its Cyber City business park in Chennai.