US Firms Increasingly Reshape Offices for Hybrid Work: CBRE Survey

Hybrid offices are gaining traction across the United States, with a large majority of respondents in a CBRE survey revealing plans to reshape their workplace.

In the survey, 85% of companies said they want to see their employees spend half or more of their time in the office. However, barely 19% of businesses said they will require employees to carry out all work at the office, with 8% intending to be fully remote.

Analysts estimate that US workers will spend an average of 3.4 days per week in the office going forward.

Employers are at various stages of the process to support hybrid work, ranging from changing the size and function of their office portfolios to implementing new in-office technology.

Around 52% of respondents expressed their desire to build hybrid offices, an increase from last year’s 44%.

Those planning to maintain the same office fell to just 9% in the new survey, down from 27% in the 2021 edition. Interestingly, 39% of companies appear to expand their office space in hope of hiring new employees.

“Hybrid work has greatly expanded the roles the office must play and the needs it must fill,” said Julie Whelan, CBRE Global Head of Occupier Research. “Companies and employees alike want their offices to support collaboration through their layout and technology. And they want to use their space efficiently, which often means sharing it with other employees or even other companies.”