Covid-19: Work from home is here to stay, says research firm CIRIL

As Work from Home (WFH) has become a reality post-Covid-19 pandemic, there is an increased demand for functional and flexible spaces that can accommodate workspace conveniently located in urban centres for easy access of the employees, according to real estate research agency CIRIL.

It is not the only business that is looking for more resilience through flexible forms of real estate, property developers and landlords also are seeking a sustained model of creating a need-based ecosystem for future of work where hybrid models of working are becoming acceptable norms, CIRIL said.

With the prospect of more workforce and office workers taking up remote or flexible work practices, building occupancy rates may decrease in short term but a few segments such as co-working and flexible spaces are going to be the main demand driver in the commercial and real estate segment, it said.

Developers and corporates have to work in tandem to address the needs of the hybrid work culture through augmentation of existing infrastructure. Smaller cities are becoming an attractive investment option for both customers and investors.

The agency said there is a huge potential in infrastructure development and real estate sector, particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities.

According to CIRIL, though the WFH is increasingly becoming an acceptable mode of working, the downside of it is that there is a lack of organisational structure, team building activities, collaboration, interaction and motivation leading to employee burnout, loneliness and mental health issues.

This has led to exploring new models of hybrid and collaborative working environment that strikes the right balance between working place and time as well as fosters a healthy interpersonal relationship between employee and employers.

Traditionally, the IT and ITeS sectors have been the first movers in experimenting with hybrid models a decade back and since then they had created a robust policy framework to support the workforce. Other sectors are gradually adapting to hybrid models as a post-pandemic strategy, it added.