Occupiers in India have started opening their doors to employees after a hiatus of two years. Over the last two months, cities Mumbai, Pune and Delhi have seen employees returning to workplaces at a relatively faster rate. These cities have economically well-diversified commercial markets spanning trading and manufacturing, BFSI, which are contact-intensive services. Moreover, domestic companies have been at the forefront of bringing employees back to offices in a phased manner.
The overall market is seeing a surge in workplaces opening in the last few months after the diminishing impact of the third wave of COVID-19, and good vaccination coverage among the eligible population. Beginning March 2022, several technologies and IT companies have started calling employees to the workplace at least two times a week, with most of these majors opting for a hybrid work policy.
Some global companies and MNCs have reopened with a hybrid model of working, but many continue to chalk out their hybrid policies. Overall technology companies are taking more time to develop policies as they continue to work remotely. Indian IT companies have started opening offices in March 2022, with many of the companies planning to return to offices in a phased manner beginning in April 2022.
“Returning to the workplace has been a running theme for the last two years, soon after every wave. However, we are seeing companies opening the office with greater fervour only now. Q2 2022 will be a crucial period as we expect more companies to open up workplaces to their employees through a hybrid model,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO, India and Managing Director, Market Development, Asia, Colliers.
Overall, business sentiments have significantly improved after the third wave of coronavirus in January 2022. To corroborate the above trend, Colliers studied the key trends emerging from the Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to understand the change in patterns of visits to workplaces across the top six cities. The study showed that Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Pune have seen a steady increase in visits to workplaces, compared to other cities and are almost inching towards the pre-pandemic level.
Colliers estimates that landlords and developers have a scope to upgrade around 100 million sq feet of office space in the top six cities, accounting for 14 per cent of the existing stock. Retrofitting of buildings is crucial and can fetch as much 20 per cent increase in rents for developers. Upgradation should make these offices more attractive to occupiers, leading to increased rents and lower vacancy levels, high tech buildings and sustainability benefits like reduction in carbon emissions.
Share
Tweet
