After the strict lockdowns in March and April of 2020, many were concerned about how the Wellington CBD would bounce back to the bustling hub it has been for decades. Wellington having the relative stability of the government sector has ensured that many commercial spaces continue to thrive but as the year progressed, it was obvious that the way many businesses chose to return to work was vastly different to the ways of work we're used to.
From our observations in the commercial property sector, many businesses have adapted fully to a 'new normal' of flexible working. While flexible working was a perk that only some companies used to offer their staff, it has now become a key defining factor for prospective employees to search for when looking for new roles. Considering that as of November, applications to remote jobs made up only 15% of all applications on LinkedIn in the US, New Zealands adaptability to the remote work life has allowed many businesses to resume to full pre-covid work output.
Not all workplaces have the ability to be fully or paretially remote however, and in many sectors of New Zealand businesses have employed a wide range of core changes to increase cashflow and ensure employees job secuirty and health. Rotating in-office shifts have bcome increasingly popular, where staff are divided into allotted days in office and the groups run ina cycle format. This allows less staff onsite at one time, allowing for social distancing and childcare measures.
Others are downsizing to smaller commerical office space to allow for decreased or remote staff, or making the jump over to a coworking environment. An uptake in smaller commercial space in suburban areas has appeared also - with businesses choosing to occupy 1-2 smaller suburban 'hub' offices, which allows for reduced rental costs, smaller staff on site, and less tiem on public transport for staff (less potentail health risks).
Additionally we've seen a sharp uptake in commercial landlords and owners making improvements to the standards of their properties, and revising how their properties are ran and occupied. Larger tenancy spaces are being converted into smaller multiple spaces, and public free access to many areas are being reduced.
So what's next for the future of commerical spaces within New Zealand? We're anticipating a larger focus on property fitouts and upgrades, an increase in overseas investment interest, and businesses interested in non-typical commercial spaces.
What do you think are the trends for 2021? What are you hoping for?
.png){kind=logo}
