Cushman & Wakefield recently released the report - Office Pods – A remote working solution set to take seed in China. According to the report, since the end of lockdown in China, new possibilities for working have been realised. The work from home experience has allowed many office employees in China a choice of working venue during any given weekday. Thinking, culture and habits concerning work have also been transformed, with many employees looking to work away from the office on at least one day a week.
Moving forward, many office employees in China want alternatives to their present work settings. They also want more control in how and where they work, and they want to experience more variety in how they work and more variety in where they work.
Shaun Brodie, Head of Occupier Research, Greater China, Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Office pods could be a solution to these posed issues. They offer a space where an individual user can focus on their work, can take a private call or participate in a conference call or webinar. The same space, if large enough, can also be used by a group of users to congregate for a meeting, for a discussion or for a brainstorming session.”
Two simple mid-to-large sized office pod layout plans
- Interior design;
- Ergonomics;
- Exterior and interior colours;
- Interior and exterior materials;
- Furniture;
- Soundproofing;
- Power supply;
- Lighting;
- Airconditioning, and;
- Incorporated technology (computers, Wi-Fi, video conferencing systems, etc).
- Ease the nature of work for the user;
- Promote user health;
- Elevate user wellness and wellbeing, and;
- Boost user productivity
Office pods can be housed in many locations around a city. They can be located in office building lobbies, in shopping centres, in coffee shops, in hotels, in residential communities, in airports, in train stations, in public squares or simply on the street.
Once a network of office pods is established around a city, a reserve-and-use-per-minute/pay-as-go-per-minute system could be utilised by user members to use a particular office pod at any given time.
Jonathan Wei, Managing Director, Head of Project & Occupier Services, China at Cushman & Wakefield, said:” from a property landlord’s perspective, the advantages that an office pod bring are clear. Three examples are: office pods can occupy vacant space and generate rental income; office pods can add a further value dimension to the property by offering people a quality third place to work from; having an office pod located within your property makes your property that much more attractive to people.”
Please click here to download the report.