JLL's Future of Work Survey Highlights Key Focus Areas & Strategies

JLL’s Global Future of Work survey has explored the evolving world of corporate real estate since 2011. This year, it analyzes the key priorities, challenges, and strategies of more than 2,300 professionals and decision-makers from around the wold. Recent insights show that companies are adopting a cautiously positive outlook in this increasingly dynamic and ambiguous environment. With plans to increase and rebalance organizational headcount in the coming years, many are ready to invest in their real estate as they expect to increase their budget and footprint. However, most organizations will also retain a sharp focus on workplace efficiency, making smarter and more responsible use of their real estate portfolio. Over 60 percent of respondents expect to see increased workplace utilization over the next five years.

According to survey respondents, the biggest constraint on operations is the difficulty of long-term planning given the fast-changing environment. This manifests nowhere more than the CRE landscape, where professionals have had to constantly adapt to major shifts in the last few years. This cautious approach to uncertainty has resulted in complexities for CRE teams, foremost of which is the need to invest for the future by transforming workplaces while balancing performance, efficiency, and cost.

JLL has identified five key focus areas:

1. Meet the shifting and dynamic work patterns and talent demands
2. Align and partner with the C-suite to support CRE investment
3. Identify CRE activities for ‘AI copiloting’ and technology innovation
4. Maintain momentum on sustainability commitments
5. Define the future-fit CRE function

Six factors are driving the need for change: 

• A desire to rebalance and increase organizational headcount to be future-ready with vital skills.
• A need to make smarter long-term investment decisions to optimize organizational efficiency.
• A divergence of visions for ‘how work should be done’ that can exist within the same organization.
• The promotion of more inclusive and equal work practices by office advocates.
• An awareness that flexible and hybrid work models strengthen organizational performance
• Opportunities for CRE teams to deliver an innovative office model that contributes to the Employee Value Proposition discussion.

For more information, visit JLL.