Shift towards smart working grows in the EU

Brussels – Since the COVID-19 pandemic, smart working has become increasingly relevant and used in the EU.
It was not anticipated that employees would want to continue utilising agile working following the shutdown and that businesses would need to reconsider their workspaces.

Since COVID-19, smart working, a previously little-used option, has become a widespread alternative to doing one’s work. In Germany, reducing office space is becoming necessary for economic convenience and because workers have responded negatively to returning to the office, preferring to continue from home.

The latest ifo Business Survey found that 6.2 per cent of German companies have already reduced office space and an additional 8.3 per cent plan to do so in the coming years. Considering that contracts on buildings are long-term, it will be possible to see the impact of this change in the future. However, a short recovery is not expected, considering economic constraints and high interest rates for construction. From the same research, we see how, in Germany, the impact changes from sector to sector, with large companies providing services in the lead and SMEs and companies in sectors where agile work is not possible, such as manufacturing, as the tail end.

In Italy, after the pandemic, the number of companies that use smart working and have decided to permanently integrate it into their companies almost quadrupled. The Italian trend seems to focus more on how to rethink space in the company, creating more meeting rooms and common spaces and considering workers’ well-being.

However, there are plenty of similarities with Germany, as large banking groups in Milan, such as Unicredit, are subletting or reducing office space and rethinking their organisation. In Italy, the process is still in its infancy; however, it seems that this trend will consolidate in the coming years, with a complete integration of hybrid work into the Italian corporate production model.