Despite the changes in workplace arrangement witnessed over recent years with the rise of work from home and hybrid setups, the demand for office spaces in the Philippines is seen to persist in the future as the country’s workforce remains office-centric, results of a survey by JLL Philippines showed.
In a media briefing on Wednesday, July 30, JLL Philippines Head of Research Consulting Janlo de los Reyes presented results of the company’s Workforce Preference Barometer Survey, which surveyed full-time and part-time employees in Metro Manila and other areas such as Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Clark, Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas.
The survey found that 73 percent of respondents still work primarily in offices, while 15 percent said they work from home. In addition, 10 percent cited others such as call centers, banks, retail, factories, and malls, while two percent cited client offices.
“The primary work setting remains the physical office, with remote work arrangements observed to a lesser extent, indicating a workplace model largely centered on office presence,” JLL said.
Survey findings showed that office attendance currently averages at 3.35 days a week, as 42 percent of respondents said they go to the office five days a week. In contrast, 21 percent said they attend the office two days a week, while 19 percent said they go to the office three days a week.
Results of the survey also showed that 77 percent of respondents have been asked to work a fixed number of days in the office.
“I think what it tells us is that there will still be demand for office spaces in the future. So definitely it’s going to remain relevant. And there is an increasing take-up of RTO (return to office) mandates across companies. So what that means is that if they’re going to return to the office, that means they need space. They need additional space, and that’s where we’re seeing growth, particularly from financial services,” de los Reyes said.
“So the workforce preference barometer survey tells us that there will still be demand for office spaces, but that’s also subjective of the industry. So not all industries will continue to expand as aggressively as before, but definitely there is office space demand over the next couple of years,” he added.
Key insights
One key insight generated by the survey, according to de los Reyes, is that Filipino workers embrace a balanced approach to office work, with 76 percent of respondents citing work-life balance as their top concern, while maintaining a strong office presence with an average of 3.35 days per week in the office.
Health and wellbeing have become critical workplace priorities for Filipino workers, as 65 percent of employees expect their company to support their health and wellbeing, making it the second highest priority after work-life balance and ahead of salary considerations.
Another key insight is that flexibility remains highly valued despite a strong office culture, as the survey results showed that 51 percent of workers currently enjoy flexible hours and hybrid working arrangements, with 68 percent expecting more flexibility in working hours when asked to return to the office.
In addition, the respondents noted that an ideal workplace combines flexibility with enhanced amenities, with 60 percent citing health services as the most desired workplace improvement. This was followed by food services (53 percent) and enhanced in-office amenities (52 percent).
Improved leasing volumes in H1 2025
During the media briefing, de los Reyes also reported that gross leasing volumes in the Metro Manila office market rose 80.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year to 582,000 square meters (sqm) during the period from 323,000 sqm in the same period a year ago.
From a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, leasing volumes declined to 262,000 sqm in the second quarter from 320,000 sqm in the first quarter of the year, roughly an 18.1 percent drop.
“So what happened here is that in the first quarter of the year, we saw significant take-up in BPOs (business process outsourcing), corporate occupiers. Meanwhile, in the second quarter of the year, this is where we saw the corporate demand weekend a bit, and that’s where the BPO market, BPO sector, carried its momentum throughout the period,” de los Reyes said.
“What we expect for leasing volumes in the next couple of quarters is for that to remain stable, and we estimate that gross leasing volumes will reach around 800,000 to 900,000 square meters by year-end,” he added.
Data from JLL showed that BPOs continued to drive the demand in the first half of the year, accounting for more than half, or 64.7 percent, while traditional or corporate occupiers had a 35.3 percent share.
For this year, JLL forecasts that gross leasing volumes are expected to reach 800,000 sqm to 900,000 sqm.
Meanwhile, de los Reyes noted that overall Metro Manila office vacancy remains steady at 18.2 percent due to stable leasing volumes combined with the absence of new supply in the second quarter of the year.
“What we expect, though, for the remainder of the year is that overall vacancy to remain elevated around 18 percent still within that range, within that band, owing to the large, growing new stock coming in. So we expect around 568,000 square meters of new stock by the second half of the year within Metro Manila,” de los Reyes said.
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