More companies go for bigger collaborative spaces in post-pandemic offices

ISG Singapore, JLL Asia Pacific weigh in on fit-out trends, costs and near-future challenges.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced office lockdowns, employees kept the image of their individual desks planted at their own respective work spaces. Since then, many companies have ditched that concept of a fixed office setup. Kelvin Hon, general manager of construction, fit-out, and engineering company, ISG Singapore, said returning employees will find that their companies have transformed their offices into more collaborative spaces.

"Creative, collaborative spaces are getting bigger and they tend to take up more space within an office. Fixed offices or fixed work desks, I find those features on a decline," Hon told Singapore Business Review.

Height adjustable stations and hot desking -- whereby a number of desks are allocated for a group of workers on rotation instead of individual assignment -- are also on the rise, he said. For meeting or discussion rooms, Hon said companies want them to cater to video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.