As governments around the world implement various lockdown measures to try and stem the tide of Covid infections, the nature of work has been transformed, with millions of us retiring to our home offices to try and continue as normally as possible. The process has triggered considerable discussions around whether this transformation will last post-Covid, and indeed what the nature of the workplace might look like in the coming years.

It’s a topic explored in depth in a new paper from EY and the Urban Land Institute, which investigates the impact of the pandemic on corporate real estate, and the places we work in, over the next three to five years.

The research is based upon conversations with over 500 corporate real estate professionals from across the globe and aims to help us to understand how the future of work might unfold, and especially the role the physical office may play in that future.

Remote and on-demand

The responses revealed that the vast majority think that the future of work will almost certainly be more remote, with the changes introduced during the pandemic sticking to a greater or lesser extent. This change will also facilitate greater digitization of work that will also see the workforce become more on-demand and self-employed.

The respondents do, however, believe that there will be a task-based divide, with execution-related tasks performed remotely, and strategy, talent management, and business development continuing onsite.

“Flexibility is the key word, both for employees and corporates as well as for the activity of work and the space and location,” the authors explain. “This implies an even greater blurring of sector boundaries than were already emerging ahead of the pandemic.”

This study is the first global survey about the impact of Future of Work, which assesses opinions of more than 500 professionals in the real estate industry and beyond, from all over the world. The research looks at how people and businesses will work over the longer term, what the role of the office will be and how this will impact buildings, locations, and cities more broadly, as well as addressing the questions of cost and demand.