Changes in the world of work, particularly as a result of the pandemic-era shift to working from home, have made millions of square metres of office space all but redundant. The vacancy rate in large cities is currently running at around 5–10%, which corresponds to almost 8 million square metres of vacant space. And reversal of this trend is unlikely, especially as remote working has settled at a stable level.
What’s more, these figures include outdated office complexes that are neither attractive for companies nor employees. In the Germany’s top five cities, more than half of the office stock will be over 30 years old by 2030.
The question that arises: What do we do with all this vacant office space? And above all: How do we make offices attractive again?
To find answers to these questions, Sector7 organised its first roundtable in February under the motto “Don’t call it office! – How our workspaces need to evolve to be attractive for employees and companies in the future.” A select group of industry insiders and stakeholders, including Raffaele Sorrentino from RAS Service Group and Ansgar Oberholz from St. Oberholz, joined us to discuss the ongoing evolution of the office market, and to develop proposals for the future of the working world. Jork Andre Dieter from TPA Consultancy made a visual record of the results.
The discussions produced numerous exciting insights:
- Changing shape of offices: Offices will remain important, but their size, shape, and function will evolve.
- Merging office and hospitality: The ongoing integration of office environments with elements from the hospitality sector holds potential for collaborative concepts.
- User-centred content strategies: A strategic, user-centred content strategy will be a crucial component of managing successful offices into the future.
- Recruitment and retention: Future office evaluations will not only take efficiency into account, they will also reflect any added-value in terms of recruitment and employee retention.
These insights show that the future of the world of work will be typified by innovative approaches to office design. The evolution towards more flexible, user-centred, and collaborative working environments holds great potential, which Sector7 will actively pursue and shape.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in our roundtable for their valuable contributions and look forward to more exciting Sector7 roundtable events in the future. Stay tuned for the latest developments in the world of work!
