As economies recover from COVID-19 induced pandemic, Reddy said at least five to 10 per cent of the workforce is not going to come back to the office full time. (Representational image)

Global companies are eager to work in countries like India and Asian countries are going to see an increase in office space demand on the back of strong economic growth, according to Abhinav Reddy, managing director of GAR Corp.

More and more companies are looking to work in India, especially in the digitalisation space, Abhinav Reddy, managing director of GAR Corp, told an international conference in Singapore on Monday.

“Companies were forced to experiment during COVID, so we are definitely seeing a lot more business coming to the enlarging IT companies and that reflects all their numbers, their business is up, the profits are up, their hiring is at an all-time high,” he said at the session which was part of the Asia Summit 2021 organised by the US-based Milken Institute.

Reddy, leads the Hyderabad-headquartered GAR Corporation, a pioneer in the creation of the iconic office parks for the past three decades. “The only problem is that we are not seeing it translate to more office spaces, which keeps me up at night, but it is only a matter of time I think,” said Reddy during a panel discussion on ‘Real Asset Investment in the Years Ahead’. There is a big difference between the East and the West. Hybrid working and remote working is easier to do and more acceptable in the Western countries fundamentally because of the way the home is set up, he said, adding that “you can’t paint everything with the same brush”. Elaborating on Asian lifestyles, he said most homes in Asia have three generations living in it.

“So, you have an average of five people per home staying there. So, working from that sort of home environment is not really as conducive as when you have nuclear families in the West,” he said, adding this is a big factor which will change demand for office space.

As economies recover from COVID-19 induced pandemic, Reddy said at least five to 10 per cent of the workforce is not going to come back to the office full time. For the remaining 90 per cent, the return to office will be in various degrees. Around 20 per cent workforce will be coming back full time, another 30-50 per cent returning three to four days a week and the remaining 20 per cent one to two days a week, he said, adding “it not going to be a fully work from office but some sort of hybrid.” Reddy believes that Asian countries are going to see an increase in office space demand because of strong economic growth.