Tag: Homeoffice

Hybrid is the new normal

77% of Swiss companies now rely on hybrid working models. That is more than twice as many as before the pandemic. In Germany, 79% of companies offer hybrid working, while the proportion of employees working from home remains stable at between 23% and 24%. At the same time, the analysis of job advertisements, a reliable seismograph for medium-term corporate decisions, shows that hybrid working has been consistently communicated as a working model in around 20% of German and 15% of Swiss job advertisements since 2023.

Recalibration, not capitulation
Yes, the average time spent working from home has fallen slightly. In Switzerland from 1.36 to 1.15 days per week, in Germany from 1.0 to 0.85 days. Anyone who sees this as the end of flexibilization is misreading the data. Only 4 to 5 percent of German companies are considering doing away with the home office completely. 74 percent plan to retain hybrid models, while 11 percent even want to increase flexibility. Adjusting entrepreneurial thinking, not turning back.

Rethinking the office
The real question is not how many days someone spends in the office. It is why someone should come to the office. 75 percent of employees see the office as a better place for social interaction, 58 percent for networking and career development, 49 percent for creative interaction. The office is changing from an obligatory place to a meeting point for things that don’t work remotely. CBRE speaks of the “office as an attractor”, a place that must offer tangible added value in order to justify the journey. Globally, office occupancy has now recovered to 53%, the highest level since March 2020.

What companies need to do now
The data is clear, as are the areas for action. 72% of the companies surveyed have set themselves the goal of improving office space utilization. 66 percent want to sustainably improve the office experience. In other words, spaces that enable collaboration instead of hindering it. Concepts that make team days meaningful and a corporate culture that makes presence attractive rather than enforcing it. Anyone who views the office as a mere cost problem is missing the real strategic question. What value does it create for people and the organization?

Flexibility as a competitive factor
Hybrid working has long been more than just an HR issue. It is a factor in the battle for skilled workers. Companies that credibly embrace flexibility have a measurable advantage in recruiting. The ISG study on the future of the Swiss workplace shows that employee experience has become a key lever, from collaboration and onboarding to the availability of space. Hybrid working is the new normal and those who strategically shape it now will position themselves as employers of the future.

April 2026
Selling a condominium? Top in the agglomeration, patience in the countryside

The latest edition of the Online Home Market Analysis by the real estate portals Homegate and ImmoScout24 in collaboration with the Swiss Real Estate Institute (SwissREI) analyses the listing data for condominiums for the year 2022. The listings analysed come from several large real estate portals in Switzerland and thus comprise the majority of all online listings for the period under review.

Number and duration of listings declines
While the listing duration of condominiums remained above 80 days during the Covid19 pandemic, it has now declined again by eight days to 77 days nationwide for 2022. At the same time, there was a five-percent decrease in supply to a good 70,000 properties. The combination of these two values shows that, viewed across Switzerland as a whole, demand for condominiums has increased in 2022.

For Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, the results of the current analysis show the robustness of the Swiss real estate market: “Home ownership is and will remain a sought-after but limited commodity in Switzerland. For despite significantly higher financing costs, condominiums sold faster again last year than in the previous year”. With the exception of the regions of Ticino and Geneva, the length of time for which condominiums are held has shortened, in some cases significantly, in the majority of the regions surveyed. “On the one hand, this shows the continuing and even increased demand for condominiums. On the other hand, real estate platforms such as Homegate and ImmoScout24 are the best possible way to avoid missing out on offers in a highly competitive market and to maintain an often time-critical lead,” Waeber continues.

Listing times in the regions are levelling out – except in Ticino
Looking at the individual regions of Switzerland, the range in listing times has narrowed over the past year. In other words, the Swiss real estate market is becoming more balanced in terms of condominium sales. Condominiums continued to sell fastest in the Zurich region, namely within 43 days. This value remained unchanged compared to 2021. In six other regions, the time it took to put an apartment up for sale fell by between five and 17 per cent. The situation is different in Geneva, where the average listing time increased slightly by just under two per cent. Ticino continues to be decoupled from the other regions. Here, the already longest duration of listings increased by another seven per cent last year.

Almost nationwide increase in demand for condominiums
The combination of changes in the duration of listings and the number of listings allows conclusions to be drawn about demand in Switzerland as a whole and in the individual regions. In the Zurich region, for example, a 13-percent increase in the number of advertisements was registered compared to the previous year. Since, despite this increase in supply, the duration of listings in Zurich did not increase to the same extent – but on the contrary remained unchanged between 2021 and 2022 – an increased demand for condominiums in this region can be deduced from this.

With one exception – Ticino – the same picture emerges for the remaining regions of Switzerland: for 2022, they all record a combination of housing duration and number of units, which places them in the area of increasing demand. In Ticino, on the other hand, condominiums had to be advertised for nine days longer last year with an almost unchanged supply until sale. It can therefore be concluded that demand is decreasing in this region.

Agglomerations clearly stronger in trend than rural communities
Differences in the demand for condominiums are not only evident with regard to the regions, but a clear picture also emerges when comparing the types of communities: while in the communities in the first agglomeration belt (“suburban communities”) seven of the eight regions examined show an increased demand for residential property, in contrast, a weakening demand was frequently observed in the “rural commuter communities”. The rural communities in the regions of Espace Mittelland and Ticino suffered a particularly strong decline in demand. On the other hand, demand only increased in Zurich and central Switzerland. The situation is completely different in the suburban municipalities: here it is only Ticino where demand declined slightly, even in the agglomeration.

For Peter Ilg, head of the Swiss Real Estate Institute, it is astonishing how quickly the real estate markets have developed “back to normal” after the Covid19 pandemic: “During the pandemic it was often claimed that an irreversible trend towards a new world of work had begun. Just one year later, we see that this is hardly the case. Home office is already being significantly reduced again in most, especially smaller, companies. This is also reflected in the change in demand for condominiums: rural communities are once again less in demand, while those around the centres are once again much more in demand.”

Source: https://swissmarketplace.group/de/

April 2023
Do we already have the office of the future?

The pandemic has triggered a change in the world of work and a rethinking of the choice of workplace. The transformation is still underway: Should there be more workplaces in open-plan offices and fewer fixed workplaces? Or does the future lie in small-scale workplace units such as the individual office? Which working models will prevail? The ideas and expectations of employers and employees are numerous. The Steiner Office Barometer 2022, which was conducted for the second time last spring, provides insights into the challenges of office space today and tomorrow.

Changing workplace models
The digitalisation of society and the business world – accelerated by the pandemic – places new demands on the interaction between technology and office space. According to the Steiner Office Barometer 2022, 27% of respondents expect workplaces to be geared towards new working models. 64% of those with workplaces in companies with more than 250 employees think that this has already happened. This means that almost half of all respondents work in new work models. This result confirms that the transformation is more advanced in larger companies.

Adapted office environments
Large companies with 250 or more employees in particular have adapted to the new situation and realigned office space – especially in western Switzerland, where office space has been reduced most significantly. It can be seen that acceptance of new workplace models is highest where experience has already been gained with open-plan offices.
For more than one in ten respondents (13%), fixed workplaces have already been abolished and flexible workplace models introduced. Among other things, new retreats for video conferences have been created. Younger employees and people with jobs in the city or agglomeration are increasingly affected by such changes.

Fixed versus flexible workplace
63% of respondents still want a fixed workplace (single office or office with several workstations). The results indicate that although many employees do not want to do without a home office, they do not want to compromise on office comfort. About half (52%) could imagine flexible single offices and another 43% flexible workplaces in an open-plan office. About a third (32%) would be willing to do without a workstation in the office altogether.

Retreat and communal spaces are in demand
A work environment that meets the need for concentrated work is in demand. This takes the form of separate rooms (66%) or individual offices (64%) that can be used as needed. Video conferencing rooms are considered important by 60%.

When it comes to the design of the working environment, 62% want rooms for spontaneous exchange, and 43% would welcome more meeting rooms. Spontaneous exchange is more important than planned exchange. As much as most respondents appreciate home offices, they also seek social contact with colleagues. That is why a workplace in a central location with good public transport connections remains the first choice.

The boundaries between working time and free time seem to be becoming increasingly blurred. As a consequence, companies need to create new quiet zones for their employees. The results of the Steiner Office Barometer confirm the desire for places of retreat within one’s own office premises. Spaces for concentrated work are desired. We are living in a new age of work-life blending, where business and private increasingly merge and new, flexible working models are therefore required.

Steiner AG has recognised this and organised an internal competition on the topic of the “working world of the future”. The three winning concepts capture the spirit of the times: healthy lifestyle with a lot of added value, merging work and private life, self-realisation, living out creativity and exchanging ideas with like-minded people.

It remains to be seen where the trends will develop further. The geopolitical situation, socio-demographic changes, globalisation and the increasing integration of digital technologies influence the trends and determine the pace of change in the world of work as well. Find out how these and other megatrends may affect our society and the office of the future in the latest Steiner AG blog posts.

January 2023
This is what office design looks like today

How and where do we like to work or work best? This is the question that occupies employees. And the challenge that companies are dealing with.
The change from a culture of presence in hierarchical structures to a culture of trust and performance in networks is progressing. We are becoming more and more used to getting involved in common corporate goals regardless of time and place. The involuntary mass home office test in particular has shown how the definition of the workplace is changing over the long term. Companies are reactivating their offices and asking themselves: are our workspaces still up to date? It's obvious: The office with future prospects goes beyond the walls of the company headquarters. A new design normality is emerging that supports hybrid use and regards the office as part of an ecosystem.
What does office design look like today?
It depends on the location
In addition to the premises, the location is decisive for how much we are motivated to commute to the office. Employees expect good accessibility by public transport and the best catering and shopping options on site.
Cheers to diversity and freedom of choice
An attractive office is a working environment in which employees can choose the zone that best suits their current activity. So a mix of project, creative, meeting and focus rooms as well as lounge-like meeting zones. And not to forget: the workplace with the height-adjustable desk for focused individual work. Alternatives such as home office, coworking space or coffee house expand the range of work outside of the office.
The neighborhood is our territory
So-called home bases or hubs provide orientation in the office. These are neighborhoods where teams come together. Rituals are also beneficial for mutual exchange: for example the fixed office day, the team breakfast or cooking lunch together. The office design is crucial for establishing social activities among employees.
Do not disturb!
Online meetings will remain an integral part of everyday work in the future. Of course it's annoying when everyone makes the calls in the open team office. The solution? Opportunities to retreat in the form of "telephone booths" with good acoustics, ventilation and lighting. Larger cubicles are perfect for one-on-one conversations or as a temporary individual office.
Acoustically optimized workplace for collaborative teamwork.
Preferably hybrid
Zoom & Co. for digital meetings make the journey to the site superfluous. At the same time, we also value physical encounters. It is not a question of whether the collaboration is hybrid, but rather how much. The key lies in the spatial integration and intuitive operation of the technology.
The office as a feel-good place
How a room is designed demonstrably influences engagement, perceived appreciation and satisfaction. The acoustics are particularly important: Speech intelligibility should be high in meeting and communication rooms, but it should be as quiet as possible in open spaces. Targeted lighting and plants also ensure a pleasant working atmosphere.
Office? Yes of course!
The more natural the environment, the better we feel. Naturalness can also be achieved in the office with furniture and decoration. What is not visible at first glance, however, is the sustainability of the materials used. Wood from sustainable forestry, fabrics made from recycled materials or refurbished furniture give the office additional inner values.
Space for chance encounters and conversations.
Take the opportunity to shape the identity and culture of your company with the physical work environment. Show your employees why it is worth coming back to the office in the future.
To person
Oliver Hauri is the Vice President of Central & Eastern Europe and Managing Director at Haworth Schweiz AG.
In his role, he is responsible for Haworth's leadership and growth in Central and Eastern Europe. The family company is one of the world's leading solution providers for furnishing inspiring learning and working environments.
haworth.com

June 2022
Steiner Office Barometer 2022: Hybrid working is the trend

Working from home has established itself as a form of work for many after the home office obligation has been lifted. Where home office is possible (for 60% of those surveyed), around three quarters currently work at least partially in the home office. This proportion is significantly lower for women than for men (66% vs. 81%), although more women would like to work more in the home office. One reason for the lower proportion is that women are more likely to do jobs that do not allow them to work from home.

This development is reflected in changed living situations: a good quarter of those surveyed for whom home office would theoretically be possible moved in the past year or is planning to move. Of these, 42 percent state that the work situation influences this decision. The data suggests that with a higher desired home office workload, a longer commute and higher housing costs are accepted.

Around a quarter (27%) expect adjustments in workplace design. 66 percent would like separate rooms for concentrated work. Individual offices that can be used when needed are very popular with 64 percent of those surveyed. The central location of the workplace with good connections to public transport remains very important for 74 percent of those surveyed.

Three work types
33 percent of those surveyed (the «office types») prefer working in an office. They would be willing to do a maximum of 20 percent of their workload in the home office. They are often at the beginning or end of their professional careers and often work for medium-sized SMEs. Most of them work in companies that have their own office space. “Office types” see disadvantages when working from home, especially in the difficult communication on an interpersonal and professional level.

Hybrid working models are very popular with 42 percent (the “hybrid types”). They are mostly in the middle of their professional careers and work more often than average in public administration or with financial service providers and insurance companies. For them, the more difficult communication is the biggest disadvantage of working from home. 30 percent fear the loss of corporate culture for their company. Because they lack the interpersonal and professional exchange in the office, most do not want to spend more than 50 percent of their working hours in the home office.

The majority of people working from home are well received by 25 percent (the “home office types”). They work more often than average in the information/communications sector with jobs that are mostly in open-plan offices. Supervisor functions are rarer in this group and they see no disadvantages for themselves or for the company when working from home.

Steiner and the working world of the future
Steiner AG has been dealing intensively with the “working world of the future” for several years. Last autumn, the company held an internal competition on this subject, in which around 50 of its own real estate specialists took part. The innovative concepts received were evaluated by a specialist jury and are now being incorporated into the development of innovative products and solutions for the office sector. Michael Schiltknecht, Co-CEO of Steiner AG, praises the great diversity of the contributions: “At Steiner, employees can get actively involved when it comes to developing their own workplace environment. We not only want to develop innovative concepts for our customers, but also implement them in our company». According to Michael Schiltknecht, Steiner AG will introduce a new, inspiring working environment on its premises this year, which will offer space for concentrated work as well as for collaborative exchange between employees.

Representative study with 1000 respondents
The study was carried out by Marketagent.com Schweiz AG on behalf of Steiner AG from February 16 to 20, 2022. It is based on more than 1000 online interviews with web-active and working people from Switzerland between the ages of 18 and 75 and included more than 40 questions.

May 2022
Swiss office market: pandemic is leaving its first traces

While the advertised space in London and New York skyrocketed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the space available in Switzerland increased only moderately at the end of the 2nd quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, from 5.5% to 5.8%. Although the uncertainties about the future need for office space are still very high for many tenants, a number of lease extensions and new contracts have been observed on the market – mostly for the purpose of optimizing or concentrating the location.

Reluctant demand for office space
The usually close link between the growth of office work and the demand for office space has decoupled during the pandemic. Despite a relatively robust development in office employment, many customers were reluctant to rent new space, especially since coping with the pandemic is dragging on and the trend towards home offices is consequently becoming entrenched. The demand for space is likely to suffer in the next few years from the fact that more and more companies are enabling their employees to partially work from home, even after COVID-19. The real estate economists at Credit Suisse still consider last year’s forecast, according to which the corona-induced breakthrough in home offices to reduce the need for office space by around 15% in the medium term, as a good benchmark. However, economic growth and the increasing proportion of office work due to the digitization effect are counter-trends, which is why real estate economists expect demand for office space to stagnate in the medium term.

The supply of space is increasing again – but less than expected
As a direct consequence of the sluggish demand, the office space advertised for rent is currently increasing again in all regional sub-markets without exception. In the office markets of the major centers, the supply in absolute numbers increases most strongly in the agglomeration communities around the central cities (outer office markets). In percentage terms, however, the supply has increased most in the city centers. Higher supply rates can be observed above all in those sub-markets that are currently recording a high level of space access. For example, the increased construction activity in Basel is making a significant contribution to the increase in the available space at the knee of the Rhine. In contrast, the comparatively intact market situation on the Zurich office market is closely related to the low level of construction activity. The comparison between Lausanne and Geneva is interesting: While weak demand was responsible for the increase in the supply of space to 12.3% in the city on the Rhone, Lausanne benefited from relatively robust demand despite higher construction activity, so that the supply of space here increased significantly less.

Investors are planning less office space
In the past twelve months, building permits for office space with an investment volume of CHF 1,598 million have been granted. This is around 17% below the long-term average since 1995. Investors have become more cautious about investing in office buildings and are holding back on new projects as long as the uncertainty regarding future space requirements is not cleared up. In a long-term comparison, the amounts approved for office renovations remain at a low level. In most cases, replacement new buildings are preferred to renovations today. Conversions in apartments, which are increasingly being considered – especially in the Bern office market – are not included in these figures. This reluctance on the part of investors should help ensure that most office markets are unlikely to develop too large imbalances over the next few quarters.

Home office only slows down space requirements temporarily
Based on a study commissioned by two federal offices on industry developments up to 2060, the real estate economists at Credit Suisse derive the development of office employment up to 2060 and use this to forecast long-term demand for office space. Current trends such as employment growth, the digitization of many work areas, but also the trend towards home offices are developing in the opposite direction. While home office reduces space requirements in the medium term, the increasing digitization of all areas of life and work is increasing the office quotas – i.e. the proportion of employees with an office workstation – in all industries and thus generating a large need for additional office space in the long term. Between 2000 and 2019, the average office rate in Switzerland climbed from 34% to 45%. According to the modeling, it should increase further to 60% by 2060. Over time, this effect is likely to overshadow the trend towards home offices, which is reducing space, and generate significant additional demand for office space in the long term.

Immediate view streaked through
In the short term, there are two opposing developments that are having an impact on the demand for office space. On the one hand, the absorption of space is likely to continue to be resinous, despite stronger employment growth, and to lag behind the usual level. A further increase in the supply of space is therefore possible, especially as there have only been a few cases of large-scale abandonment or reductions in space due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, such dismantling plans exist. On the other hand, a certain amount of demand is likely to have built up. The real estate economists at Credit Suisse are forecasting a renewed increase in supply, particularly for large and peripheral spaces. They also expect a further increase in vacancies next year and ongoing pressure on rental prices, which could be a little higher than the current minus of 0.1%.

Figure: Expansion and supply in the large and medium-sized centers
Circumference: stock of office space; Expansion: building permits for the last four years compared to the long-term average; Supply quota in% of the 2018 portfolio

The full study on “Swiss office space market 2022” is available in German here .

December 2021
Global Real Estate Run: Global event for innovation and sustainability in the real estate industry

In the home office, slowly but surely, the ceiling is falling on the head of some people. Even if Corona continues to require you to keep your distance from one another, it is time for a sense of community. For this reason, the Global Real Estate Run initiative is launching a run for everyone.
On April 30, 2021, 6 kilometers must be completed in a time window of 24 hours: every participant is free to run, run or walk. Anyone can take part – anywhere in the world. The run is of course 100 percent corona-compliant: the 6 kilometers are completed on a route of your choice, regardless of location. Registration on the Globalrealestaterun.com website is required to participate. Each participant then has access to a geotagged app that is compatible with other running apps.
In addition to the community feeling and the health aspect, the initiators would like to draw attention to innovation and sustainability in the real estate industry. The real estate industry is currently responsible for around 30 percent of all CO2 emissions. This proportion must be reduced quickly and efficiently. And everyone can contribute something. Because sustainability is not a local but a global issue. Just like the Global Real Estate Run.
Of course, the initiators have also made sustainability a priority: thanks to the commitment of the main sponsors Homegate, SPG Intercity Zurich AG and PropTechMarket, a tree can be planted for each participant. This is done in cooperation with qualified organizations in suitable regions and under fair conditions. The goal: to get as many people as possible to complete the 6 kilometers on April 30th – and thus to plant as many trees as possible.
Individuals, families, teams and entire companies can take part. Employees and customers can thus be offered variety and distraction. There are therefore special event packages for companies and teams. Participation is free for private individuals – a voluntary amount can be added at your own discretion.
In order to shorten the time until April 30th, the initiators continuously publish exciting and informative articles on the topics of innovation and sustainability in the real estate industry on Globalrealestaterun.com. This includes, for example, a checklist on how private individuals can save energy.

April 2021