Structured Hybrid Work Becomes the Global Norm as Strategic Focus Shifts to AI-Readiness

From experiment to expectation

"The structured hybrid model has moved from experiment to expectation," said Dr. Paul Morgan, Global Chief Operating Officer, Real Estate Management Services at JLL. "What we're seeing in 2026 is the maturation of corporate hybrid strategies. Organizations are no longer asking whether employees should come in; they're actively managing how, when and in what kind of environment they do. The critical challenge now is ensuring that attendance requirements are paired with the change management infrastructure to support them. Our data shows that change management programs have actually declined from 40% to 31% of organizations, even as structured policies have increased. Compliance without engagement is a short-term outcome and the companies that will win long-term are those investing in the 'why' alongside the policy."

There are also regional considerations at play that organizations must navigate. North and Latin America have consolidated firmly around the three-to-four-day model, EMEA remains more divided with a significant share of employees at one to two days per week and APAC continues to lead full in-office attendance (five days a week) globally, where cultural norms make the office the default rather than the exception.

The next frontier: AI-readiness

Despite the growing consensus that artificial intelligence will reshape occupancy planning and management, the vast majority of organizations remain at the starting line. Nearly three-quarters (over 70%) of respondents have not yet begun actively piloting, optimizing, or scaling AI solutions for occupancy planning, with 40% not exploring the technology at all. This is underscored by the fact that only 7% of organizations rate their own data capabilities as 'excellent'. The primary barriers to adoption are significant and specific: data privacy and security concerns top the list at 70%, followed by high implementation costs (46%) and system integration and compatibility challenges (45%). Currently, only 8% of organizations have moved beyond piloting into optimization or scaling.

"The data quality challenge is one we're solving in real time alongside our clients and the progress is tangible," said Matt Quadro, Senior Director, Global Occupancy Planning at JLL. "For organizations preparing to leverage AI in real estate, the reliability of their underlying data will determine the value and accuracy of every insight delivered. Our focus on digitizing validation processes and implementing unified reporting standards ensures that our clients have the trusted information necessary to unlock the true potential of AI-powered decision making."

In addition to being a priority for corporate real estate, utilization data is now applied to 90% of planning decisions globally, up from 70% in 2025. This is particularly important as organizations look to reallocate workspaces in ways that are genuinely useful to the employees. For example, private offices continue their decline as phone booths (41%), focus rooms (30%) and small meeting rooms (29%) rise in their place. Knowing whether those investments are working requires space-level utilization data, not building-level badge counts.

Data quality as the critical prerequisite

"The data quality challenge is one we're solving in real time alongside our clients and the progress is real," said Matt Quadro, Senior Director, Global Occupancy Planning at JLL. "For a global financial services organization managing 24.5 million square feet, fragmented data management across multiple business units meant space records were often outdated before changes were even entered into the system. By consolidating roles, digitizing validation processes and establishing unified reporting standards, we gave them the accurate data foundation that every smart real estate decision depends on."

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About JLL

JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 113,000 as of March 31, 2026. For over 200 years, clients have trusted JLL, a Fortune 500^® company, to help them confidently buy, build, occupy, manage and invest across a variety of industries and property types, including office, industrial, hotel, multi-family, retail and data center properties. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY. Powered by rich global datasets and leading technology capabilities, we provide coordinated, end-to-end delivery of real estate services for a broad range of global clients who represent a wide variety of industries. Through LaSalle Investment Management, we invest for clients on a global basis in both private assets and publicly traded real estate securities. For further information, visit jll.com.