MNCs have grown more accepting of hybrid accommodations – with a larger share of employees working remotely, since China’s most recent wave of pandemic. “Although hybrid approaches grow more common, most firms recognize that office spaces still have irreplaceable value,” said Joseph Wang, Senior Director for JLL Shanghai Office Leasing Advisory. Many MNCs believe that physical presence in offices and in-person interactions are key to increasing productivity. Working in offices also can cultivate important functions like cross-department collaboration and innovation, impromptu conversations, and relationship building.

Notably, approximately 67% of the respondents with over 5,000 sqm of office space will consider split office operation. In addition to cost saving and business development, BCP (Business Continuity Planning) is one of the main drivers for all surveyed firms to pursue split office arrangements. In terms of splitting options, setting up offices in emerging submarkets is the most popular. Approximately half of the companies currently located in mature areas that are considering splitting offices expressed a preference for emerging submarkets as their second locations. 

In this survey, JLL analyzes MNCs across five dimensions including office site selection strategy, workplace planning, facility management, digitalization strategy, and human experience, and tries to understand how they are developing and optimizing CRE strategies to cope with the pandemic while also serving their long-term China growth strategies.