SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Next year, organisations may have to pay more to redesign or upgrade their workspaces, even as many are trying to cut costs, according to JLL’s Asia Pacific Fit-Out Cost Guide 2020/2021.

The average fit-out cost rose 4.7% y-o-y across the region with labour shortages, health and safety considerations, material availability and higher delivery costs as the main price drivers.

Martin Hinge, executive managing director, Project Development Services, JLL Asia Pacific, says that health and safety protocols, while necessary, are impacting productivity and project timelines, driving costs up.

Read more: The reimagined office

Nonetheless, JLL believes that companies will continue to invest in safe and productive work environments as workspaces still play an integral role in preserving a company’s corporate culture, as well as to recruit and retain talent.

Next, companies need to modify their offices to “de-densify” and incorporate more technologies, suggests Hinge, adding that employees have become “consumers of the workplace” with a choice on where and how they work.

The report states that due to the ongoing construction boom and labour shortage, for the fourth consecutive year, Tokyo ranks as the most expensive office market to fit out at US$179 psf ($239 psf), compared to the regional average of US$93.

In cities reliant on imported materials or foreign labour like Brisbane, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and most Indian cities, prices of fitting out offices will continue to increase in 2021.

Meanwhile, such costs may dip or stabilise in Auckland, Bangkok, Manila, Seoul and Taipei as many construction service providers and contractors have resorted to reducing overall margins.