In recent years, an increasing number of service companies have made savings on their office space. Quality but smaller buildings were chosen. This was linked to hybrid working and teleworking, where people no longer came to the office every day and the concept of a permanent desk for everyone was abandoned. The corona crisis reinforced this trend.
Companies note that Tuesday and Thursday are the peak times. “These are the days when people prefer to work in the office. When everyone comes back, we will have to add chairs,” says Axel Smits, chairman of PwC Belgium, one of the major audit and advisory groups. “There is no fixed desk for every employee.”
There is also a potential for tension between companies and employees. After the corona restrictions, many employees preferred to continue working from home as much as possible. They had that included in collective labor agreements. On some days, only 20 percent of employees came to the office. Not all employers were equally enthusiastic about this. Now companies themselves are asking for employees to work from home in order to reduce office costs.