Boom in flexible working coming, says global space provider Regus 

The survey conducted, by independent economists, studied 16 key countries to delve into the state of flexible working both now and through 2030.
Sixteen countries were Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. 
 Regus found that between 8 per cent and 13 per cent of all employment will be associated with flexible workspaces in most developed economies by 2030. Greater levels of flexible working will save businesses money, reduce operating costs and boost productivity – ultimately causing a ripple effect across the economy from core businesses through to supply chains.
 The specific benefits include higher business and personal productivity, lower overheads for office space for companies using flexible workspace, and millions of hours saved commuting. All of these factors contribute to flexible working’s gross value contribution to the economy.
 China and India are predicted to see the greatest gross value add (GVA) increase from flexible workspace, potentially experiencing an increase of GVA of 193 per cent and 141 per cent in their respective economies. This equates to $1.4 trillion for China and as much as $375.8 billion for India each year. While the US has a slightly lower per cent value-add to its economy from flexible working at 109 per cent, it will see the highest gross value increase at $4.5 trillion.
 The study found that flexible working doesn’t just benefit economies – it also helps individuals. Remote workers were almost twice as likely to say they love their job as those in the same industry working in a traditional workspace.
 A huge factor in this may be the time saved by individuals due to remote and flexible working. According to an accelerated growth model, which lays out a scenario for uptake of flexible working at a higher-than-current rate, cutting out the commute by working remotely could save 3.53 billion hours by 2030. That is equivalent to the time spent at work every year by 2.01 million people.
 People in China, the US, India and Japan will see the greatest hours saved in the commute under the accelerated growth scenario. Working people in China will gain back two hours each, while workers in the US will have nearly a full extra day of leave by cutting out the commute.
 Report author Steve Lucas of Development Economics says this study shows flexible working offers significant contributions to society, from giving people more of their personal time back, to boosting the economy via job creation and improved productivity. These projections show flexible working is a strong economic force that businesses and people should embrace in the years to come.
 Noelle Coak, the Regus country head for Thailand, Taiwan and Korea says that Regus Thailand business centres are part of a vibrant, evolving business landscape, supporting business development and expansion for emerging opportunities within Asean.
There is a real demand in Bangkok, as a growing centre of commerce with an expanding start-up culture, for flexible office space solutions such as Regus. Flexible solutions can act as a springboard to help new enterprises into profitability and success by controlling costs while enabling growth and increased productivity, said Coak.
 Regus Thailand’s network of 21 workspaces spans across Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Si Racha.