CNBC: Most Valuable Post-Pandemic Office Space Will Be Near Areas Where People Actually Live, Says IWG CEO

International Workplace Group (IWG), the world's largest provider of flexible workspace solutions with more than 3,300 locations in 1,100 cities worldwide, is stepping in to help employees, employers and landlords adapt to the shifting hybrid workspace landscape of the post-COVID world.

In a video interview with CNBC, Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG, explained that while commercial office space occupancy is up across the board, major cities like New York City will never fully return to normal after the pandemic. This, as Dixon explains, is because the way workers want to use New York City has changed as more people work from home or from flexible workspaces in their local communities.

“The real enemy is commuting — that is what workers want to avoid, but they still want to use New York City as a place to meet and collaborate,” said Dixon. “There is no way to sugarcoat this — New York will never be the same again. Technology and the pandemic have changed the way the city will look in the future. Big cities like New York, where the commute is long and the houses are expensive, will need to reinvent themselves.”

IWG is currently aggressively targeting North America for expansion, looking to add 1,000 locations each year to its more than 1,200 locations in the U.S. and Canada and eventually surpass 10,000 locations. Much of its expansion is through its landlord investor and property developer model.