World's leading workspace provider at the forefront of the hybrid revolution

Darren Rogers is the Country Manager and Sales Director for IWG in Singapore, the world’s leading provider of flexible workspaces. Darren brings with him over a decade of experience in the flexible workspace and commercial real estate sectors, and across a range of functions in sales, marketing, operations and business development.

As demand for hybrid work continues to grow, how is the flexible workspaces industry capturing opportunities in this sector?

The demand for hybrid working continues to rise within Asia Pacific and elsewhere globally. Businesses have started to recognise the benefits of hybrid work to People - by improving quality of lives through reduced time spent commuting, Planet - by lowering carbon footprint with shorter commutes and downsizing of city-centre offices, and Profits - including cost savings of US$11,000 (SGD14,770) per employee who works remotely for half of the week.

Research has also shown that close to 70% of employees in the region say they still prefer hybrid work arrangements over returning to the office five days a week. As the world's leading provider of hybrid working solutions, we’re capturing opportunities by partnering with property owners and investors across the world to provide the largest network of flexible workspaces for businesses of every type and size – adding over 1,000 new locations globally over the course of the next year. To date, our network is five times larger than the nearest competitor, with 3,500 centres across more than 120 countries enabling unprecedented access to flexible workspaces.

Beyond Singapore’s city centre, we are also capturing growth potential in decentralised locations as workers increasingly look to shorten their commutes and work closer to home. To date, we have added 9 Regus and Spaces centres in neighbourhoods like Balestier, Paya Lebar, Joo Chiat and Tampines. Our newest Regus centre in Singapore nestled in the residential neighbourhood of Balestier has seen a 650% increase in total visits to date since its opening almost a year ago. We plan to continue growing our footprint in decentralised locations as part of our long-term goal of bringing workspaces closer to people’s homes.

What is the International Workplace Group doing to equip employees with effective and productive coworking spaces?

The adoption of digital collaboration tools, accelerated by the pandemic in the last few years, has made it much easier for staff to work and communicate from anywhere. However, issues such as poor cybersecurity, slow Wi-Fi and not having access to the right collaboration tools all put constraints on those working away from the office or flex space. Furthermore, distractions, mental health and communication can also impact how individuals collaborate with one another. As such, quality in-person collaboration has a vital role to play in the new world of work, and so our physical spaces must evolve alongside technology.

Our flexible workspaces are designed to be perfect for collaboration, encouraging people to feel comfortable with participating and ensuring they can do so without the problems associated with working from home. They are distraction-free spaces where workers are guaranteed the fastest internet connection and the latest video conferencing software to keep online meetings flowing smoothly, for example.

To that end, we are helping 8 million people work the hybrid way through ongoing investments into the world’s largest and most sophisticated hybrid working platform. We invest more than £50m annually in technology such as in developing systems, automation and apps across many areas – to ensure that our customers get the tools they need from us to fulfil their business goals and optimise the way they work.

What is your outlook on the future of the commercial real estate industry in 2023? Are there any new trends you are witnessing in the industry?

Hybrid work will continue to shape office demand, as businesses recognise flexible workspaces like IWG as a critical component of the hybrid work ecosystem. JLL notes that more than one in three corporates plan to accelerate their investment in flexible space in the coming years, raising the proportion of flexible space in their real estate portfolio from an average of 30% today to 46% by 2025.  With the role of the workplace being redefined in the hybrid world of work, we see positive signs that the demand for flexible workspaces from real estate owners will continue to speed up in the mid to long term.

We also believe that property owners of all types can reap the benefits of hybrid work, as the spaces required to meet the increased global demand for flexible office space do not have to be existing offices. For example, flexible workspace can be in retail spaces like Spaces One Raffles Place which occupies four levels of the six-storey mall, or in supermarkets, such as in London where we’ve partnered with supermarket giant Tesco to turn part of its New Malden store into a 3,800 sq ft Spaces location. We also opened a Spaces centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in November last year. 

We’re actively speaking to all types of property owners – from building and hotel owners, to transport and mall operators – who are looking to diversify their portfolios for the future of work. We’re also exploring different forms of partnerships and franchising opportunities to bring more choice and accessibility to hybrid work.

"With a fundamental shift in attitudes to work-life balance, leaders must put a spotlight on improving employee wellbeing, as a better work-life balance makes for happier, more engaged and productive employees."

How do you envision the future of work, especially as employees return to the office and transition to endemic living?

Our latest Future of Work report notes that at some point in the next five years, the proportion of professional employees embracing hybrid work will pass 50%. This is a very significant milestone in the evolution of work as it means that for the first time, those working from a single location will be the minority.

Hybrid working is now the preferred solution for millions, and more changes are still to be expected as our working lives continue to be impacted by innovations and new thinking in areas such as sustainability, technology, recruitment and productivity. Key trends that we foresee in the future of work include the rise of digital nomads; more sustainable workplaces to mitigate real estate emissions; and leveraging new technologies such as the metaverse to boost productivity and help maintain corporate cultures in a hybrid, distributed workforce. Companies will also continue to experiment with new ways of working, for instance, the four-day work week may be embraced more widely, with trials having shown increased productivity.

We also expect a renewed focus on employee benefits and training, especially as we head towards an uncertain economic horizon where retaining key talent is more crucial than ever – this could mean adding further health, fitness and lifestyle benefits into the employee value proposition. Another interesting trend on the horizon is the normalisation of side hustles and rising ‘pixelated workforce’, which is an ecosystem that draws on the skillsets of a combination of freelancers and full-time employees.

What has the pandemic taught you about leadership
One of the biggest lessons to come from the pandemic is the importance of making people a priority in the workplace, and showing them that you care for them and value their contributions. While we cannot control or predict what happens in a crisis, we can depend on and care for the people who are the driving force behind our business. Furthermore, with a fundamental shift in attitudes to work-life balance, leaders must put a spotlight on improving employee wellbeing, as a better work-life balance makes for happier, more engaged and productive employees.

At the same time, the pandemic has also forced companies and leaders to challenge the status quo. Only one thing is for certain, which is that change is universal, and thriving in the new world of work will depend on businesses’ ability to pivot and adapt. For instance, we have been a hybrid organisation for decades, but we’re always adapting – whether it is in improving our training programmes for employees or introducing new products and solutions to help bring more people into the hybrid future.

Finally, the pandemic has made many of us appreciate the small things. We took many things for granted prior to 2020, and it’s important that we stay appreciative about everyone and everything we have.