In its most recent poll of individual office tenants worldwide, leading global property technology platform Equiem reports that globally, office workers are enjoying their remote work situations less and less.
More than 1,500 respondents participated in the poll globally as part of Equiem’s larger initiative to collect and provide actionable data and insights to clients amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Equiem, via its robust client services dashboards allows landlords to review responses by portfolio, building and even company, presenting the opportunity to learn from and better understand individual tenant sentiment. All responses are automatically anonymized.
The poll, which the company distributed directly to office workers worldwide during the first week of September, reflects stark differences from the company’s recently released 2020 Global Tenant Survey, in which 69% of workers said they liked working from home. Released in July, the report provided valuable insights into the impact of COVID-19 on workers’ productivity at home; sentiment about returning to work; expectations of landlords; and health and safety concerns as office buildings continued to see historically low occupancy rates during the pandemic.
In Equiem’s most recent poll:
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56% of workers expressed that they enjoy working remotely, a 13% decrease from the previous findings. In addition,
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12% of workers reported that working remotely is “getting old,” while
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21% said they “miss the office” or that working from home is “not for me”
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Among those saying they “miss the office,” the increases grew 4% globally (4% increase uniformly in the US, UK and Australia)
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Australian workers tenants expressed the largest decrease (down 15%) of workers saying that they “love” working from home
“We’re seeing a definitive swing away from ‘I love working from home’ to ‘I miss being in the office’,” said Gabrielle McMillan, CEO of Equiem. “While workers continue to enjoy interacting virtually with their office buildings and colleagues, it seems that many are anxious to get back to their physical workplaces soon. I suspect these decreases will continue the longer employees work from home–people miss the human and physical interaction and connectivity of the office.”
Founded in 2011, Equiem is the most widely used tenant experience platform worldwide, providing landlords with valuable insights that help transform their properties from mere brick & mortar structures into vibrant, connected and engaged communities with services and experiences that enrich occupants’ lives. As a result, Equiem is able to poll tenants on a global level, providing further insights to its clients.
To date, Equiem has collected data from over 730 companies and approximately 5000 individuals across four countries. Since March, Equiem has seen a 40% growth in its U.S. footprint as more landlords seek out dynamic communication tools, smart building solutions and a means of providing custom-tailored content and experiences to tenants working remotely.
With over 9,000 companies registered, more occupiers use Equiem’s tenant engagement platform than any other in the market. A key element is the data analytics stream which provides clients with current information about how users are interacting with their buildings and the service they expect from their landlords.
In addition, Equiem recently announced its Return to Work Solutions services platform, which provides live updates to all tenants while they work from home, re-entry guideline videos, “Book Your Entry”, touchless entry/exit, monitor lobby traffic, density and occupancy – and much more.
