Workplace, Investment and Environmental Sustainability - German Office Employees' Expectations of Office Buildings

Office buildings are undergoing massive structural change: In view of a changing working world and of increasing competition from work-from-home and third workplaces, they must meet rising user interests, also as a resource in the war for talent. Under the impact of climate change, the ecological transformation of the building stock is essential due to its particular significance for greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, office buildings should continue to fulfil their investment function on the capital markets. The discussion about the transformation of office buildings has so far taken place academically among experts. The opinion of those most directly affected, the office workers, has so far remained unheard. Yet their opinion could be of particular importance due to the necessary acceptance of possible solutions for resolving any conflicting goals between user, investment and sustainability perspectives. This study fills the gap and examines stakeholders' trade-offs between the three perspectives. The aim of the study is to investigate office workers' preference for the requirements from the three perspectives as well as the influence of different personality traits, such as environmental awareness or financial literacy, on the trade-off process. For this purpose, a choice-based conjoint analysis was conducted among 1,000 German office workers. The results represent the first measurement of the importance of office workers' requirements for office building from the three perspectives and underline the importance of personality traits for respondents' ratings. The findings highlight directions for further research and provide important implications for business practice around office building transformation.