Corner office makes comeback as city company ditches hot desking

Holding Redlich’s contemporary design approach has been launched in Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra. Now it’s Sydney and Melbourne’s turn.

“In short, at Holding Redlich, open-plan and hot desking are out, and offices are in,” he said.

“It’s clear from our people’s response that when you have your own office, or a shared office, you are much more comfortable working in an office.”

The open layout and hot desk setup are enthusiastically welcomed by large companies, not only because they save space but because they are seen as encouraging team building and creativity.

Other law firms have adopted a mixed style of office supplies. Arnold Bloch Leibler has largely closed offices across its national locations, including at 333 Collins Street in Melbourne, while Norton Rose Fulbright’s new office at 60 Martin Place, Sydney, has a hybrid layout.

Despite employers’ desire to return staff to work, occupancy rates across the country have stalled.

A June Property Board survey showed Sydney slumped to 53 percent and Melbourne edged up to 49 percent, compared with 60 percent and 48 percent respectively for May.

Sydney has also been affected by the disruption of the rail network, strikes and bad weather forcing people to work from home.

Renders of law firm Holding Redlich rebuilding its $12 million office on floors 65-67, 25 Martin Place (formerly MLC Centre), Sydney

Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said the impact of the spread of COVID-19 and the flu was “clearly hampering the return of the office”.

“Although office occupancy rates have continued to recover since the start of the year, this month there has been a clear respite in workers heading to the office,” Morrison said.

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“The continued spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses, the extremely wet weather on the East Coast, combined with industrial action in NSW, are all clearly preventing workers from getting into their CBD workplaces.”

NSW Property Council executive director Luke Achterstraat said the survey was conducted by its member PCA between 23 and 30 June 2022, which coincides with an increase in the number of COVID-19 and flu cases across the country.

“One month’s data doesn’t equate to trend, so now is the time for governments and employers to double down and maintain the momentum to return to office,” Achterstraat said.

Owners of flexible offices are also confident that demand for the model remains strong, despite fears of a third wave of the coronavirus that could keep workers at home.

IWG, the world’s largest and fastest growing provider of flexible office space, with brands including Spaces and Regus, has announced the addition of five new centers across Australia to meet the growing demand for hybrid work solutions.

These include Spaces Collingwood, in Melbourne, Spaces Jubilee Place and Spaces 80 in Ann Street, Brisbane, and Spaces Parramatta Square and most recently at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney.

“This is a unique time for the Australian workforce today with the unemployment rate at an all-time low. In today’s candidate market, returning to a pre-pandemic work setting is simply not feasible for a competitive business anymore,” said Damien Sheehan, head of state for IWG in Australia.

“In contrast, we are seeing a significant shift to flexible working with more companies adopting a hybrid work model. Hybrid employment has been, and will continue to be, at the front of the mind for the Australian workforce”.

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