March 13, 2018

Corporate Activity and Workstyle Reforms as Seen in Office Relocation

What are the characteristics of a company's behavior when moving into a new office due to relocation or new opening? Xymax Real Estate Institute conducted a questionnaire survey of companies that moved into a new office between 2016 and 2017 to ask about the behavior of the person in charge from office search to moving in, and about companies' initiatives in workstyle reform, a movement that is becoming increasingly widespread.

This report summarizes the relationship between office demand and workstyles and the changes in such relationship as seen in companies' office relocation behavior, based on the results of the questionnaire.

Main Topics
In terms of the type of office relocation, “relocation for expansion” was the most popular (46.6%), followed by “new opening” (26.2%) and “relocation for downsizing” (13.6%), indicating robust demand for offices. The most popular reason for the relocation was “space became small due to personnel increase” (41.7%). 28.6% of companies chose “to heighten motivation of employees,” indicating companies' high interest in employee satisfaction. In choosing an office, companies placed the most importance in “rent,” “size of space” and “proximity to nearest station.” On the other hand, the top requirement that was forsaken was also “rent.” This indicates that a certain number of companies increased their budget after struggling to find an office that met their requirements. In terms of difficulties companies faced between considering relocation and completion of the move, the top replies included “narrowing down the properties,” “confirming the layout plan” and “negotiating contract terms (e.g. rent).” 60.7% of companies introduced a new office layout when moving into a new office in order to improve workstyles. Specific examples include “an open meeting space,” “space for employees to refresh” and “ABW”^＊. The most popular purpose of introducing a new office layout was to “improve comfort of the office space” (34.5%), indicating companies' awareness toward employee satisfaction.

Main Topics

In terms of the type of office relocation, “relocation for expansion” was the most popular (46.6%), followed by “new opening” (26.2%) and “relocation for downsizing” (13.6%), indicating robust demand for offices.
The most popular reason for the relocation was “space became small due to personnel increase” (41.7%). 28.6% of companies chose “to heighten motivation of employees,” indicating companies' high interest in employee satisfaction.
In choosing an office, companies placed the most importance in “rent,” “size of space” and “proximity to nearest station.” On the other hand, the top requirement that was forsaken was also “rent.” This indicates that a certain number of companies increased their budget after struggling to find an office that met their requirements.
In terms of difficulties companies faced between considering relocation and completion of the move, the top replies included “narrowing down the properties,” “confirming the layout plan” and “negotiating contract terms (e.g. rent).”
60.7% of companies introduced a new office layout when moving into a new office in order to improve workstyles. Specific examples include “an open meeting space,” “space for employees to refresh” and “ABW”^＊.
The most popular purpose of introducing a new office layout was to “improve comfort of the office space” (34.5%), indicating companies' awareness toward employee satisfaction.

＊ABW (Activity Based Working): A layout with a variety of work areas that can be chosen according to the work, such as booths for concentrating on solo work and space to collaborate in a team.