The recovery of the economy, the improved business dynamic and the safety measures in the workplace have led in 2021 to at least a partial return of many employees in the office, in the public and private sectors across the country. Nearly three quarters (72.2%) of employees in Romania say they currently work from their office at least 3 days a week, although the effects of the pandemic are now more widespread than last year. Most of them believe that returning to the office contributes significantly to maintaining an emotional balance and to the economic recovery, according to a survey among 1,100 employees nationwide conducted by Genesis Property between September and October.
At the same time, half of employees point out that an acceleration of the vaccination campaign is extremely necessary to combat the effects of the fourth wave of the pandemic. Some 44% also see a need for additional sanitation and social distancing measures to limit the spread of the virus, and 38% consider that it is necessary for people to get tested more frequently.
80% of respondents believe that the return to office life is good for people, both personally and professionally. In addition, almost 43% consider that the main benefit of returning to the office is a better separation between work and personal life and 36% point out that the office contributes significantly to better interaction with colleagues and managers.
„Preparing the return to office is an ongoing process as economic activity has increased this year. Recruitment trends show that employers are expanding their teams as business grows and returns to pre-pandemic levels, and many companies have taken steps over the past year and a half to limit health risks in the office. On the other hand, however, we are all witnessing the effects of the fourth wave of the pandemic, so we believe, together with employees in Romania, that it is absolutely necessary to see an acceleration of the vaccination campaign and more measures implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus”, says Ștefan Tudos, Vice President of Genesis Property, responsible for managing the client portfolio.
About 40% of respondents say their employer has integrated health measures and established additional procedures for office activity. At the same time, more than 50% of employees say more effective health measures should also be introduced in schools, given the incidence of Covid-19 among children. Over 45% support the hybrid learning system to better distance children and the implementation of more efficient sanitation systems in schools.
IMMUNE™ standard measures - essential for healthy workplaces and schools
There are currently several office buildings around the world that have implemented or are in the process of implementing measures recommended by the standard and have achieved "healthy building" certifications. The H3 building in the West Gate Business District office complex is the first in the world to achieve the highest level of IMMUNE™ certification, giving occupants a healthy experience when working in the office.
IMMUNE Building Standard™ was developed by the Romanian company Genesis Property in April 2020, to assess and certify the health of indoor spaces, where people spend over 90% of their time. The standard proposes 135 consistent measures that, once implemented - in part or in full - give building owners or businesses the tools to monitor and adjust the health indicators.
The Genesis Property survey on employee perceptions of building health was conducted nationwide in September - October 2021 via the iVox platform on a sample of 1,100 Romanian internet users. Almost 54% of participants are women, more than 50% are aged between 25 and 40, and 53% have a net income of more than 3,000 lei.
About Genesis Property
Genesis Property is one of the leading Class A office developers in Romania, with over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. The company owns and manages over 150,000 square meters of Class A office space in Novo Park and West Gate Business District in Bucharest occupied by international blue-chip tenants such as: HP, Accenture, Societe Generale, Citibank, Ericsson, Garanti BBVA, Infineon, Luxoft, Yokogawa, Siemens and Alpha Bank, where more than 20,000 employees work.
In 2020, Genesis Property launched IMMUNE Building Standard™, an innovative global standard that certifies the resilience of buildings to health threats such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Through IMMUNE™, the company aims to contribute sustainably to the creation of the healthy buildings of the future.
Genesis Property is also the developer of the first private student campus in Romania, West Gate Studios, and a 4-star accommodation unit Studio One Accommodation Suites.
