A recent
report posted on The Economic Times talks about how Providing
convenience and flexibility for employees on one hand, cost-effectiveness, and
asset-light models for employers on the other, coworking/managed spaces are
booming. Demand for such spaces is soaring in large metros and Tier-2 cities
alike as companies tighten return-to-office rules.
On a good
day, Nira C's commute to her office on Outer Ring Road, one of Bengaluru's most
congested areas, took 1-1.5 hours; the time doubled during rainy days or
traffic snarls.
With a
toddler at home and only a parttime nanny, the fact that her employer, a
software company, now offers the option of a coworking space closer home, is a
huge relief.
"It
had come to a point when I was thinking Id have to quit but now, my office is
close enough to nip out in case of anything urgent at home, says the
33-year-old.
Demand is
coming in across sectors as varied as tech, IT/ITeS, professional services
& consulting, health & pharma, manufacturing, food aggregators, BFSI,
BPOs, GCCs, airlines and media, with Welspun One, Harvard Business School,
AdaniConneX, Kotak, RaboBank, JPMC and Nielsen among those opting for such
spaces, said operators who are seeing occupancy rates of anywhere between
85-100%."With
the declining trend of work from home, flexible office spaces are fast catching
up in Tier 2 cities owing to the rising trend of satellite offices and back-end
offices," said Sanjay Chaudhary, founder & CEO, Incuspaze.
"Additionally,
as companies aim to reduce costs, maintain proximity to their staff, and retain
valuable employees by offering flexible work arrangements, the need for
flexible spaces in India is increasing." Incuspaze has seen a 15% rise in
queries in first quarter of 2024 than the previous year.One of the major
advantages of flex office spaces is the ability to scale up or down as per the
business requirements. Traditional office spaces in prime locations often come
with high rents and long-term lease agreements.
Flex office
spaces offer a more cost-effective alternative, as businesses can rent only the
space they need for a specific period, avoiding hefty upfront costs and
long-term commitments.
There are
three customer categories that are clearly taking shape, says Anshu Sarin, CEO,
91Springboard.One
is the freelancers/early startup category; second is the mid-stage startup /
SMEs and then there are large size companies (both MNC and large Indian
corporates)."The industries falling under the latter are not just the IT/
ITES companies but BFSI, manufacturing and global capability centres.
Companies
from some of these categories have done scaling of their seats with us as per
requirement and lease renewals," added Sarin.
Dextrus,
which caters to the premium end of the market, has been maintaining an above
90% occupancy rate. "We are seeing very large demand for companies wanting
to come back to the office," said Robin Chhabra, founder and CEO, Dextrus.
Post covid,
Dextrus has seen a wider range of sectors explore and take up space. "Work
from home is on the wane is one of the reasons but the main reason this space
is booming is because of the convenience. Companies from sectors such as
warehousing, data centres,banking, education, private equity, pharma, hotels
etc. are part of our clientele," said Chhabra.
For WeWork
India, the member base has grown by -20% in the last year. Tech and IT/ITES
companies, startups, professional services & consulting, health &
pharma, manufacturing, finance, and media, are among its members.
"Over
53% of our present member base comprises tech companies such as impress,
Equinix, Fynd, and 3M, among others, and we expect it to grow further in the
near future." said Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India.
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com//jobs/hr-policies-trends/demand-for-flexibility-cost-effectiveness-drives-co-working-spaces-boom/articleshow/110627146.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst