A report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and ANAROCK Group — “Workplaces of the Future” — underlines that the flexibility built into hybrid work models will be mirrored sharply in not only how work is done, but also where it is done.
Flexible work spaces — better known as coworking spaces — seems to be high up the order of preferences for those plumping for hybrid work models.
The report observes that “in an ANAROCK survey, 46% of respondents chose coworking spaces for adopting hybrid work model; 30% voted for the hub-and-spoke model, 24% for existing office layout changes.”
There also seems to be a ready market catering to this growing preference. The report notes that “currently, approximately 35 million sq. ft. of flexible office stock is available across India” and “approximately, 3.7 lakh flexi seats are currently spread across the major Tier I and Tier II cities of India.” The CII-ANAROCK report predicts that hybrid work models can be counted among factors that could “potentially double the market size of coworking spaces over the next five years at a compound annual growth rate of 15%.
The report draws attention to a survey conducted by ANAROCK via LinkedIn that had 65% of respondents convinced for the high potential for growth held by hybrid or remote work models on Indian soil.
“The pandemic-triggered need to restrategise workspaces, indicate a bright future for this new asset class. Companies returning to offices will have to consider leveraging flexi spaces to reduce cost and expenditure, and this will boost the demand for such spaces,” the study remarks.
On the strength of the responses in a LinkedIn survey conducted by ANAROCK, the report notes that working out of home is a least favoured option.
“As per the survey, at least 54% of respondents favour a hybrid model wherein they work from the office for a few days and the remaining from home. In contrast, 33% prefer working entirely from the office, and only 13% consider working from home suitable, owing to smaller apartment sizes and larger families.”
