looking beyond covid-19: home/remote working in china and its potential impact on office workplace strategy
mar 30, 2020
shanghai, 30 march, 2020 ——while having the ability to work from outside of a corporate office has been feasible for the last couple of decades, working remotely at home in china has become evident and important on a grand scale in the country only really since the outbreak of covid-19.
according to a recent survey carried out by cushman & wakefield of over 2,000 office landlords and office occupiers in china, only 30% of respondents said they had returned to their workplaces by late february (since the end of the spring festival holiday), while at least 40% of respondents said they are currently working remotely.
home/remote working can be a win-win opportunity for employers and employees alike in china. the value that such a business platform and regime can bring to:
· employee engagement;
· employee morale;
· employee retention, and;
· employee attraction,…is well known.
when implementing a home/remote working business platform and regime, it is important to consider all the factors and issues associated with business function and office workplace design.
among others, these include the platform guidelines, and the tools and the technology to be adopted, as well as space layout design and furniture to be integrated into the office workplace once the platform is up and running.
remote working: selected business functionality issues to consider
source: zdnet.com, cushman & wakefield research
remote working: selected office workplace design concepts
source: getapp, cushman & wakefield research
shaun brodie, head of occupier research, greater china, head of research, east china, cushman & wakefield, said: “looking ahead, we do expect many enterprises around china, which have not already done so, to adopt and to offer their employees some sort of home/remote working business platform and regime in the future.”
according to the same recent cushman & wakefield survey, around 21% of the interviewed enterprises in china will change their mode of working and adopt a home/remote working business platform for their office employees in the future.”
china companies: will you adopt a home/remote working business platform
for your office employees? (february 2020)
source: cushman & wakefield office agency, cushman & wakefield research
additionally, and according to the same cushman & wakefield survey, 81% of the interviewed enterprises in china are likely to add more intelligent communication network technology software and devices, such as cloud conference-related software and devices. by doing this, these enterprises hope to better enhance the home/remote working experience for their office employees, and boost employee engagement and work productivity.
china companies: will you add more intelligent communication network technology
and devices to better enhance the home/remote working experience
for your office employees? (february 2020)
source: cushman & wakefield office agency, cushman & wakefield research
jonathan wei, managing director, head of occupier services, china, said: " while home/remote working holds many advantages for both an enterprise and its employees, it has to be noted, it can never be a replacement for the physical office. there will be individual employees, business teams and departments that work better together in the physical office. moreover, for those employees working at home or remotely, the physical office will always be there for face-to-face meetings with fellow colleagues and clients alike.”
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about cushman & wakefield
cushman & wakefield (nyse: cwk) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. cushman & wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 53,000 employees in 400 offices and 60 countries. across greater china, there are 22 offices servicing the local market. the company won four of the top awards in the euromoney survey 2017 and 2018 in the categories of overall, agency letting/sales, valuation and research in china. in 2019, the firm had revenue of $8.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. to learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @cushwake on twitter.
for further information, please contact:
mandy qian
director, marketing & communications, greater china
tel: 86 10 8519 8040
mandy.qian@cushwake.com
