Step Into My Office: CBRE’s Take on Rethinking Office Space and the Future of Flexibility

December 23, 2024

Julie Whelan shares her insights about the traditional office transformation and where flexibility intertwines with CPE's Olivia Bunescu.

Step Into My Office podcast episode with Julie Whelan — Head of Occupier Research Julie CBRE’s Julie Whelan shares her insights about the office transformation and how flexibility and technology influence will continue to influence the market. *Image by peshkov/iStockphoto.com*

Over the past couple of years, landlords and companies have been reevaluating their office space needs, with many resizing their portfolios and navigating the need for more flexibility in office settings. Although return-to-office strategies are widely reinforced, there’s still a gap between actual attendance and these policies.

While some regions and industries register higher office return rates, CBRE’s Head of Occupier Research Julie Whelan noted a 25 percent decrease in average lease sizes and a 9 percent reduction in space per worker across the country. Despite these changes, leasing activity and space utilization have plateaued, leading to a higher possibility of market stabilization in 2025.

In this episode of CPE’s Step Into My Office podcast series, Whelan joins Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu to shed light on the future of the office market and the factors that will influence how it will fare in the upcoming year. She also highlights the importance of adopting flexibility across your portfolio, along with some of the barriers and trends shaping the future of work and traditional office as we know it today.

LISTEN TO: Step Into My Office: Taking a Closer Look at NYC’s Office Landscape

Here are the main topics they discussed:

The hybrid work revolution: where are we now? (1:55)
Regional and industry differences driving office utilization (04:09)
Bridging the gap between attendance policies and actual practice (08:33)
Strategies for integrating flex solutions into traditional office settings (11:10)
Lack of experience remains a barrier to the wider adoption of flex office models (15:08)
Defining success in office and flex office portfolios (20:09)
Where technology comes into play (24:50)
Other trends shaping the sectors (27:39)
Will the office market stabilize in 2025? (30:06)

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Music credit: Sunrise Sprint Office Beats via stocktune.com