Standard Chartered staff start using IWG’s shared-office space as it implements flexi-working in Hong Kong

‘The IWG arrangement is an alternative to home and office. It’s an option we’re giving employees,’ Standard Chartered spokesman says
Standard Chartered’s deal with IWG gives bank’s 85,000 employees globally access to co-working operator’s 3,500 offices

Office rental

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 10:39pm, 12 Feb 2021

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Standard Chartered employees in Hong Kong have started using co-working space operated by IWG as the bank implements the flexi-working arrangement announced late last year.

The London-based bank recently signed an agreement that gives its 85,000 employees globally access to IWG’s 3,500 offices around the world for a trial period of 12 months. Standard Chartered employs about 6,000 in Hong Kong.

“In Hong Kong, they have started to use our offices since the start of the month,” said Paul MacAndrew, country manager for IWG in Hong Kong. IWG operates 16 locations under three brands – Regus, Spaces and Signature – in the city.

A Standard Chartered spokesman confirmed the implementation of the flexible work arrangement. “We’re trialling this new approach for 12 months and it started on 1 February. If successful, we will make it part of our permanent workplace offering.”

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Standard Chartered, one of the city’s three note-issuing lenders, said in November that it planned to allow employees in nine markets, including Hong Kong, to apply for a formal flexi-working arrangement, meaning staff could split their time between the bank’s offices, at home or another premises, such as a co-working facility.

The move came after an internal survey found that about 10 to 15 per cent of employees globally said they needed to be in the office every day, while the rest wanted a more flexible arrangement or to avoid the office altogether.

The remote work arrangement has taken hold across the globe as companies implement social distancing to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 that has infected 107 million people worldwide and claimed 2.4 million lives, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization.

By 2030, 30 per cent of all offices are likely to be “consumed flexibly”, according to JLL. Another study by IWG found that 83 per cent of workers were likely to reject a job that does not offer work flexibility.

The shift to flexible work arrangement has seen Standard Chartered review its real estate needs in the world’s costliest city. It was reported last week that the bank was giving up its lease for eight floors at its headquarters in Central. The bank will also offer for lease three floors it owns at Millennium City in Kwun Tong.

The lease for four floors expires in October this year and the other four in April 2022. Combined, the eight floors equal 60,000 sq ft. The three floors it plans to lease out in Kwun Tong also total 60,000 sq ft.

The reduction of prime office space could help the bank save about HK$6 million (US$770,000) a month as the building’s owner Hang Lung Properties is expected to ask HK$100 per square foot, according to market observers, Meanwhile, leasing the three floors in Kwun Tong will help the bank generate HK$1.5 million a month, or HK$25 per square foot, they added.

Property consultants said that demand from big multinational companies for flexible work space is expected to grow as they view it as an attractive option for entering into new markets, reducing capital expenditures and testing out alternative occupancy models.

“Some companies are considering flexible workspaces as they look to reduce cost and seek greater flexibility and efficiency,” said Dane Moodie, senior director, advisory and transaction services for offices at CBRE Hong Kong.

“[But] companies need to have a better understanding of the effectiveness and impact of working from home for its employees to execute a seamless transformation to a hybrid workplace,” he added.