MAJOR THEMES

The following are some of the cross-cutting themes that emerged in the SME responses from The Experts’ Assessment: New Ways of Working 2030 study. They represent issues that IFMA members should discuss and prepare for.

ESG from hope to action

Hope that FMs would take action and play a leading role in driving more sustainable development was the predominant sentiment in the 2020 Experts’ Assessment survey.

In 2022, the perspective shifted. SMEs now argue that focusing on reducing buildings’ environmental impacts will be an FM core responsibility toward 2030.
The challenge before the industry is monumental. The construction and building sectors are responsible for 33% of global resource consumption and 40% of global waste. Operations are a significant challenge as building operations account for 80-85% of real estate’s total energy usage. Given that most office environments go underutilized during working hours, there is much to be done to make operations more sustainable.1

The construction and building sectors are responsible for

of global resource consumption

AND

of global waste

Working from home is the norm for the knowledge workers

The high level of work from home will lead to smaller office footprints, greater use of flexible leases with shorter commitments, and greater use of coworking locations.
The shift to remote work puts greater responsibility on individual workers for the quality of their work environments. Research, however, shows that it limits workers’ abilities to push for better amenities and services through collective action. The long-term impact on working conditions remains unclear.4

Working predominantly from home reached nearly half the workforce

in cities like Washington, D.C., USA

Nearly

of the workforce works predominantly from home.

“Responsibilities and support services will grow in FM, and hopefully, they will include work-at-home environments.”

Subject Matter Expert — “The Experts’ Assessment”

New role for facility management

The reliance on remote and hybrid work strategies continues to transform the FM function.
Depending on the industry, some FM functions will continue to support building asset-heavy portfolios while others will assist asset-light operations.
In asset-heavy operations, where FMs must facilitate operations across several sites, FMs will continue to transform offices into more attractive, experiential and sustainable settings where workers can meet, collaborate and work productively.
In asset-light operations, small FM teams could conduct spot-checks to ensure that coworking locations and short-term flexible leased locations deliver as promised.
Given increased reports of musculoskeletal injuries5, many SMEs expect more FMs to take greater responsibility for sourcing equipment and providing advice for at-home workstation setups. Questions remain as to whether or not FMs would be involved in at-home risk assessments. National and local regulations will differ on this issue.

Technology transforming the FM landscape

Digital technologies are critical for solving many FM industry challenges, including

> Developing and servicing spaces that promote occupant health and well-being

> Reducing facilities’ environmental footprints

> Providing operation telemetry, enabling FMs to do more with less

> Narrowing and closing the flow of materials, energy and water into buildings.6

Technology will increasingly augment workers’ abilities and organizations’ business models while automating many tasks.
FMs must be proactive and focus on digital transformation (see IFMA “Leading Digitial Transformation” white paper for more information). End users expect digitally enabled, individualized, quick and efficient services — which they receive in numerous physical settings. They will expect them in their work settings as well.

The new urban landscape continues to unfold

Urban areas continue to transform as organizations consolidate their office holdings, and make greater use of coworking sites, satellite offices and event spaces.
Many of the supporting businesses (retail shops, restaurants and cafés) around office-dense urban areas will be impacted. New York City Mayor Eric Adams fears that New York “may not have central business districts anymore.”7
Yet, downtowns will survive. In the industrial era, downtown areas were manufacturing centers. Urban centers survived deindustrialization in the 1980s. Deindustrialization has made urban areas cleaner and healthier and led to better well-being.
Urban centers will survive the transition from office to distributed work. Office-centric downtown areas (i.e., central business districts) will transform into mixed-use communities where people can eat, socialize, entertain, work and live.8

The U.S. urban studies theorist Richard Florida argues that downtowns are taking many socializing roles once “offered predominately in offices, as people do more of their work in cafes, restaurants, hotel lobbies, libraries and other third places. Recent surveys of remote workers indicate that nearly 40% spend some of their days working in coffee shops and coworking spaces. Changes in zoning codes could allow for more of this.” 8
As buildings in urban areas become increasingly mixed-used, facility managers will be responsible for facilitating these spaces and environments. They will have to think about the quality, not just the efficiency of space in and around their buildings (see IFMA’s white paper Seeking Higher Ground).
Also, as sustainability requirements increase, building operations will transform. FMs will increasingly become responsible for managing grid-interactive buildings linked to smart electrical grids. More will manage buildings’ indoor comfort using district heating and cooling. They will find district solutions for water and waste reduction and reuse.
FMs will need the training to develop competencies around grid-interactive buildings and increase collaboration with nearby facilities to leverage assets better. They will need to think beyond the confines of their buildings.

1 Mobach, Sandqvist, Saunders (2022) Seeking Higher Ground: Navigating FM Industry’s Transformation. IFMA https://ifma.foleon.com/white-paper/seeking-higher-ground/

2 U.S. Census Bureau releases new 2021 American Community Survey https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/people-working-from-home.html

3. Percentage of employed people that sometimes or usually work from home in selected European countries https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102787/employees-teleworking-in-the-eu5/

4 Aruna Ranganathan (2022). Speak up or stay silent. Standford University. Remote work conference. October 12-14.

5 Radulović (2021) Work from home and musculoskeletal pain in telecommunications workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study. Europe PMC https://europepmc.org/article/med/34587664#impact

6 Jeffrey Saunders (2022). Leading digital transformation in the FM. IFMA. industry. https://ifma.foleon.com/white-paper/digital-transformation/dt-the-fm-industry

7 Theo Wayt (2022). Eric Adams says NYC ‘may not have central business districts anymore’ as remote work persists. New York Post (July 19) https://nypost.com/2022/07/.

8 Jeffrey Saunders (2022). Leading digital transformation in the FM. IFMA. industry. https://ifma.foleon.com/white-paper/digital-transformation/dt-the-fm-industry