The future of alternative offices and their potential impact on real estate sector

Within the scope of this thesis study, alternative offices - serviced offices, co-working places, etc. -, which become more prevalent in parallel with increasing mobility and flexible working phenomena constitute the main focus, and the main factors underlying this increase – technology developments, employer and employee trends - have been examined. In the light of both global and Istanbul specific findings, the future of the office concept has been predicted and the potential effects together with the set of necessary actions for real estate sector are articulated. The inferences were made through several methods: literature research, survey analysis, case study and interviews. Literature research has been used to reveal the historical development of offices, the technology developments, employee and employer trends. Through the survey analysis, the trends regarding white collar employees in the service sector in Istanbul were determined and insights were drawn on the differences between the expectations and the current situation. Case analysis is used to show how alternative offices can be used by employers as a cost advantage. Lastly, interviews with real estate professionals are utilized to structure the potential effects on the sector and to form strategies to turn these effects into advantages. As a result, it is expected that mobile and flexible work will continue to rise rapidly and this transformation will have a significant impact on the office concept in general. When looking at the most important ones, we can infer that it will be important to design more collaborative and inspirational office spaces and provide physical office access in multiple locations. Developers who implement strategies that meet these expectations will be able to strengthen their advantageous position even in the event of reduced leased space per employee. It will be also important for other related professionals to update their approach accordingly, e.g. architects in terms of their design criteria and city planners in terms of their location selection preferences and area requirements.