Health and wellbeing will be a “key consideration” in the pricing and take-up of office space after the coronavirus lockdown, property leaders have said.
As companies plan a return to the workplace, real estate bosses said the pandemic had changed the priorities of investors and tenants when it came to making real estate decisions.
Mark Tyson, head of property operations at Legal & General, said it would be “inconceivable” that space would be chosen on size and location alone.
“Transparency on building performance and support for users’ health and wellbeing will now become a key consideration in the pricing and take-up of office space,” he said.
Tom Renn, Manchester managing director at Bruntwood SciTech, likened the increased awareness of the importance of mental health and wellbeing in building standards to property’s move towards becoming more sustainable.
“People are going to expect the building to perform at a higher level, not just physically but in terms of mental health,” he said.
“There was already a significant movement towards sustainability and zero carbon and I think people are going to have an increased awareness and more thoughtfulness about those broader factors – [for example] has the building got WELL accreditation?”
Renn added: “There were already a number of companies… caring more significantly about softer factors to attract talent. What you will see is that dial increase significantly.”
Scarborough Group project and investment executive Adam Varley said the pandemic would further spur companies to consider health and wellbeing in building standards. He said that assets could become obsolete if the right monitoring and evaluation processes, such as ventilation systems, are not installed.
Varley said: “Without question, Covid-19 is going to make [mental health and wellbeing] more topical.”
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