More than two-thirds of global employees work remotely at least one day every week, and over 50% do so for at least half of the week, heralding a major reassessment of corporate real estate, according to a comprehensive new global study.
According to IWG, the parent group of leading workspace companies including Regus and Spaces, more than half (53%) work remotely for half of the week or more, while more than one in 10 (11%) people work outside of their company's main office location five times a week.
The study was based on the insights of over 18,000 business people across 96 companies.
"People from Seattle to Singapore, London to Lagos no longer need to spend so much time in a particular office. We are entering the era of the mobile workforce and it is hugely exciting. Not just for individual employees, but for businesses too,” Mark Dixon, founder and CEO of IWG, said.
“This is a huge shift in the workspace landscape globally, and businesses are now looking closely at what this means for their corporate real estate portfolios."
For generations, the world has understood office-based work to involve a fixed location and a 9-5 schedule. But an unprecedented number of businesses are now adopting a very different working model, which produces benefits for them and their workers.
The IWG survey found that flexible working not only reduces commuting time, but enhances productivity, staff retention, job satisfaction and even creativity.
The move to flexible workspaces reflects the changing demands and expectations of the workforce: 80 per cent of those surveyed agree that flexible working helps them retain top talent while 64 per cent are now offering this to help them recruit.
Over half (58%) agreed that offering flexible working improves job satisfaction, demonstrating the need for businesses to provide working environments suited to today's employees to maintain a first-class workforce.
The benefits businesses are experiencing are clear: a resounding 91% said that flexible workspaces enable employees to be more productive while on the move.
The survey showed also that flexible working and the use of shared workspaces are no longer the preserve of start-ups. The world's most successful businesses - including varied companies such as Etihad Airways, Diesel, GSK, Mastercard, Microsoft, Oracle and Uber - are already adopting a flexible workspace approach.