FM newsroom – office, Poland. Though employers and property managers keep looking for ways to incentivise employees to come to the office, new research finds that 36% of Polish people prefer working in hybrid mode and 47% are against working a fixed number of in-office days.
36% of employees are preferring hybrid
New research from Cushman & Wakefield has found that 27% of Polish people combine in-office attendance with home office. The same figure for cities with a population of over 500,000 stands at 36%. At the same time, 47% of respondents are against being mandated to work a fixed number of in-office days – Eurobuild CEE reports.
One in three office workers in Polish cities with a population of over 200,000 work on a hybrid basis, the survey has found. In mid-February 2024, one in five job openings provided an opportunity to work hybrid and one in four to work hybrid or remotely – the same figures as three months earlier.
Ewa Derlatka-Chilewicz, head of Research, Cushman & Wakefield pointed out that many employers allow hybrid protocols, even if they would prefer to see higher in-office attendance levels to help build solid organisation and corporate culture. Being able to meet more coworkers face-to-face was cited by 44% of the survey respondents. Logistics was also very important, with ample parking spaces and the office location near a public transport stop being key to 45% and 28% respectively.
Employers are prioritizing quality over size
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s data occupier activity in Warsaw in the last 12 months was largely driven by a trend towards optimizing and downsizing office footprints. This is borne out by the number of transactions, which was up by nearly 18% compared to the office take-up in the peak year of 2019. At the same time, the structure of demand in 2023 was dominated by relocations which accounted for approximately 53% of all deals. This shows that employers are adapting their operating models to changing market conditions, frequently prioritizing the quality over the size of the office. This in turn benefits the owners of centrally located class A office buildings meeting strict ESG requirements, both in terms of environmental aspects and employee health and wellbeing.
Offices offer invaluable support
According to the research: “Office or Home? What Attracts Polish Workers to the Office?”, 71% of Polish people working hybrid value flexible work arrangements, but more than half enjoy meeting larger groups of colleagues in the office. In addition, only 12% would embrace working fully remote or on-site. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents say that human connection and social bonding have suffered as a result of off-site work.
Office fit-out and quality were also relevant to the surveyed employees. 38% claimed that a nice and modern office design encourage them to be in the office, and 35% even named high-quality internet connectivity as a decisive feature. 85% are open-minded about the transformation of offices so that they better address the needs of hybrid working, including a greater focus on teamwork and quiet rooms.
