Workplace of the Future survey results, November 17, 2011

Reporting on the results of a large international survey of corporations, NewWOW noted the following as key results of the survey:

According to the survey, the most important strategy in attracting the new generation of knowledge workers, was offering employees flexible workplace options (41 percent), followed by offering leading-edge technology (39 percent). Two other strategies -- locating the company within a transit –oriented suburban or urban center and providing enhanced employee amenities on site at work scored much lower with younger workers (10 percent).

Here are the key workplace findings:

Office space utilization: When asked if their company had a program in place to increase their company's space utilization per person occupying office space per day, per week and per month, 37% answered yes; 63% no.

Ways to increase space utilization:

• More open, collaborative workspaces with less individual offices (77 percent)
• Densification of individual workspaces within the corporate office (62 percent)
• Reduce square footage footprint through disposition (54 percent)
• More employees working remotely from home sites, satellite sites or client sites (46 percent)
• Mobile working programs that include desk-sharing, hoteling and co-working spaces (31 percent)
• Workplace flexibility: Though 78 percent of companies currently have less than 10 percent of their employees working from home more than one day a week; that number is expected to grow by 2015.

While this puts a damper on enthusiasm for TOD development, it highlights the importance of "flexible workspace options", especially "densification."  The result of these trends among younger workers is that much less office space per worker will be needed in the future, although the County continues incomprehensibly to insist that office space per worker should remain at 300 gross square feet (GSF).

For the full press release and access to the related presentation, click here.