Unprecedented demand for flexible offices as the pandemic “ permanently changes ” the world of work Business News

Demand for flexible office space has reached “unprecedented” levels as more businesses change the way they operate during the pandemic, according to the world’s largest provider of co-working spaces.

International Workplace Group (IWG), which operates worldwide through brands such as Regus, said the world of work has been “permanently changed by the pandemic”.

He expects continued growth in the demand for hybrid work where staff divide their time between office and home.

This has been one of the most difficult years in the company’s history, with sales falling 20.9% between January and March compared to the same period in 2020, which was the best quarter ever achieved by IWG.

The FTSE 250-listed firm has seen strong demand from large companies looking to use several of its sites to provide flexibility to their workforce.

More than a year after the start of the pandemic, many office workers still work from home all or part of the time, in accordance with public health restrictions.

IWG hopes to take advantage of employers who saw an opportunity to offer their staff more flexibility while reducing rent bills for expensive downtown offices.

Among those looking to seize this opportunity is the government, which allows officials to work from home and in the IWG’s “walk-in” offices in 10 cities.

In March, IWG signed its largest contract ever, allowing 300,000 employees of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in Japan to use its 3,300 workspaces around the world.

The Irwin Mitchell law firm became the latest to announce flexible countertops. She told her 3,000 employees that they could work when and where they wanted, as long as the customers were happy.