Text: Nils Neukranz - EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent social distancing regulation by the German government, an extraordinary home office experiment was initiated. This experiment has triggered significant behavioural changes among employees and employers, which could drastically change the office market in the long term in Germany.

According to an Immowelt survey, around one-third of those working from home during the Corona crisis are doing so for the first time. If positive experiences with virtual working methods are gained from this situation, it is very likely that working and communicating via virtual platforms will outlive the pandemic. This should not only favour the trend towards home office, but also towards flexible workspaces. For when working from home, there is no physical and mental separation between work and private life. Especially in larger cities, where living space is limited, it may be difficult for employees to work and live in the same environment.

Flexible workspaces in close proximity to residential areas enable a spatial and mental separation between home and office, without sacrificing the advantage of short commuting times. They also provide a productive working environment and allow offline exchange with others. If there are people who consider flexible workspaces to be the better working environment than traditional company offices or home office, flexible workspaces will become a tool for attracting and retaining employees, which creates an incentive for companies to at least partially allow employees to work in a flexible workspace. Additionally, the legal requirements regarding the safety and protection of employees in the working environment can be easier satisfied in flexible workspaces than at home.

A hybrid model, which allows working both in the company office and in flexible workspaces close to home, could be attractive for many companies and employees. The supply of flexible workspaces could quickly follow such a demand. After all, flexible workspaces are characterized by low barriers to market entry. Apart from a suitable location, office desks and an internet connection, not much is needed to offer people a flexible workplace. During the Corona crisis, some players have tried to provide flexible workspaces for the first time. Since the beginning of the pandemic, for example, more and more hotels, including the Dorint Group, have tried to make a virtue out of necessity and offered empty hotel rooms as workplaces. In addition to hotels, unused retail and restaurant space offers further potential for a subsequent use as flexible workspace.

It is possible that in the long term, large flexible workspace players will establish themselves on the market and broker their business concept within the framework of an operational partnership or award a right-of-use to investors but also to restaurants and hotels in order to be able to offer users a standardised and functioning service across a wide network. In the long term, providers who have a large network or those who are connected to one should be the ones to survive. After all, the larger a provider's network is, the more attractive it becomes for users.