Of any sector in commercial real estate, the future of office is arguably the most tenuous. Even as some employees return to the office, many may not—now or potentially ever. Companies and their workers have found value in flexibility of the stay-at-home experiment, choosing to extend it for the foreseeable future in some cases. In other instances, a kind of middle ground is being explored: the use of flex space. “Companies are scrambling to figure out this new world, figure out how they support their employees’ diverse needs, figure out how to create workplaces not only at a headquarters but also near their teams’ homes, and figure out what to do with their leases that now pose even greater liabilities,” said Anna Levine, chief commercial officer of Industrious, which offers coworking and private office space all over the country. “Ironing out all of this can be overwhelming, especially at a time when companies are knee-deep in responding to all of the other changes the pandemic has brought on.” That’s why so many companies—and even individual employees—are turning to outfits such as Industrious. In some cases, the company just isn’t ready to have everyone back in headquarters, while many employees may also favor the convenience of working from home. It isn’t always a perfect environment, however, as any parent can share. A home office is still at home, which comes with an untold number of distractions. “Demand for coworking space is very much driven by people who need a location to work that isn’t their home,” said Ben Munn, JLL’s global flexible space lead. “We’ve seen demand increasing in near-to-home, suburban locations or dense residential areas and it tends to be for smaller requirements.” That’s precisely what Regus, which provides coworking and virtual office space, has witnessed in the past few months. “Currently, we are seeing much greater growth in smaller suburban areas as employees look to cut down on their commute and work closer to home,” a company spokesperson said, touting Regus’ representation in large metropolitan areas, as well as smaller towns and cities. “Our model is very well suited to the changes that are now taking place.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.