JLL's Future of Work Survey uncovers new opportunities for
corporate real estate as two-thirds of business leaders expect
their CRE budget to increase between now and 2030
CHICAGO, Sept. 9,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the challenging
commercial real estate landscape and mixed economic environment,
global business leaders are bullish on the future, with two-thirds
(65%) expecting their CRE budgets to increase between now and 2030,
as revealed in JLL's (NYSE: JLL) Future of Work survey. The
biennial, global survey explores the evolving world of work by
assessing the key priorities, challenges and strategies that are
top of mind for more than 2,300 business and CRE decision
makers.
This year's findings are unveiled through a series of articles
exploring key areas of focus for corporate real estate teams:
Managing the implications of shifting work patterns; Partnering
with the C-suite to support CRE investment; Identifying CRE
activities for 'AI copiloting'; Moving from ambition to action on
sustainability commitments; and Defining the future-fit CRE
function. The first two articles, launched today, dive into the
effects of shifting work patterns on workplace expectations, and
what the changing world of work means for the way the CRE function
operates as more than 64% of leaders expect to increase and
rebalance their headcount by 2030, in an attempt to recruit the
right skills for the future.
"Since our 2022 survey, the CRE landscape has become
increasingly complex and dynamic, evolving toward better office
use. We see that in these results, and in our conversations with
clients," said Neil Murray, Global
CEO, Work Dynamics, JLL. "Looking ahead, business and CRE leaders
working to drive talent and efficiency throughout their
organization must consider the unique needs of their organization,
and leverage tools such as tech, AI, and upskilling, as well as
strategic partnerships across the value chain to enable the CRE
function to reach its full potential as a powerful agent of
transformation."
Competing visions on the most efficient workstyles create
renewed CRE challenges
Business leaders are mainly focused on three corporate goals
over the next five years: growing revenue through expansion and
M&A (57%), attracting and retaining talent (53%) and achieving
organizational efficiency (54%). However, the juxtaposition that
lies between driving revenue growth through top talent and
increasing efficiency requires leaders to delicately balance
priorities and assess the role of offices as places that enable
employees to deliver their best work.
Strong momentum toward office-based work since 2022 has brought
forth expectations among respondents to increase use of office
space (62%), where more than half of leaders plan to grow their
total footprint over the next five years. Today, 44% of
organizations are considered "office advocates," who would like to
see staff in the office five days a week – as compared to 2022,
when just 34% of employees were working in the office full time.
Hybrid work is here to stay, but the office is central to work
again. Today, 85% of organizations have a policy of at least three
days of office attendance per week, and 43% expect the number of
in-office days to increase by 2030.
Globally, hybrid work is more likely to take place at large
organizations in EMEA, where hybrid workstyles are considered a key
part of the employee value proposition, and largely in sectors
including e-commerce, energy & renewables, technology and life
sciences. Office advocates alternatively tend to be small-to-medium
sized companies in APAC or the Americas, across sectors such as
healthcare, retail and manufacturing. Beyond those big trends, the
reality is often more complex, with different workstyles coexisting
within many organizations.
Today's office advocates also make a concerted effort to address
diverse workplace needs – they are more focused on making
accessible workplaces (49% vs. 36% of hybrid adopters), tailored to
meet the needs of different generations, cultures, and
neurodiversity specificities, and may even pay a premium to occupy
buildings with leading health and wellbeing credentials. With
office attendance may also come new opportunities for compensation
and career advancement– more than a third (39%) of respondents
could envision introducing different pay and benefits to employees
who attend the office regularly.
"The future of work looks different across companies and
regions, reflecting the unique nature of organizations and employee
needs. It keeps shifting and requires building evolutionary office
programs and spaces, able to adapt to continuous changes in
the workstyles," said Cynthia
Kantor, CEO, Project & Development Services, JLL.
"Globally, as CRE budgets and footprints receive new investment,
the corporate real estate function must effectively partner with
the C-suite to demonstrate the desired value."
The corporate real estate function can serve as a powerful
agent of transformation, particularly with the use of technology,
AI and the support of strategic partners
The value the corporate real estate function can deliver will
vary depending on the needs of the organization and regional
priorities. Globally, business leaders believe CRE can add the most
value by supporting business growth (41%), enabling organizational
efficiency (38%) and reducing operating costs (37%). Environmental,
social and governance (ESG) factors are also an area in which the
CRE function is expected to add value, especially in EMEA.
Organizations in the Americas are more likely to expect CRE to
support business growth, innovation and efficiency, while companies
in Asia Pacific are more focused
on digitization.
These varying expectations around value require agility
throughout CRE functions, in a context where 41% of CRE decision
makers report challenges with thinking and investing for the long
term due to the pace of organizational change. The same percentage
believe CRE is perceived as a cost center, rather than a value
driver. Identifying the right metrics and ways to demonstrate
value, in addition to strengthening relationships with the C-suite,
will ensure CRE is more integrated into the wider business and
positioned to quickly adapt to changing priorities – 46% of CRE
leaders say influencing and leadership will be critical skills in
the future.
Technology is also emerging with greater impacts for CRE, as
more decision-makers expect to report to business transformation or
technology by 2030. CRE leaders believe that 70% of their
activities will be at least partially supported through the use of
AI by 2030, and a quarter of the CRE function could be initially
completed through automation – freeing up time for more strategic
work. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of decision makers see technology and
AI adoption as critical for enhancing the value that CRE delivers
in the future. A 'future fit' CRE team should focus on high
value-add tasks internally, while automation and AI take on routine
and repetitive tasks and outsourcing partners are brought in for
specialist tasks and individual projects.
About JLL
For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a
leading global commercial real estate and investment management
company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy, manage and invest
in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and
retail properties. A Fortune 500® company with annual
revenue of $20.8 billion and
operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than
110,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined
with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of
real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and
communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAYSM. JLL is the brand name,
and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For
further information, visit jll.com.
Contact: Allison Heraty
Phone: +1 312 228 3128
Email: Allison.Heraty@jll.com
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SOURCE JLL
