Sticky, sluggish, downright weird.
Those are some of the more polite ways agents and brokers have been describing the market lately. And frankly, they’re not wrong.
The office leasing world has become a bit of a rollercoaster — one week, you’re flying through back-to-back viewings and it feels like the good times are back. The next? Radio silence, tumbleweeds, and a calendar emptier than a Soho pub on a Monday morning.
Historically, these dips in momentum made sense — school holidays, bank holidays, everyone buggering off to Marbella. But now? There’s something else going on. A new kind of hesitation has crept in, and it’s not just the usual economic jitters.
Sure, you could point to market uncertainty — it’s the obvious scapegoat. But here’s the thing: in previous downturns, the market still moved. Deals still got done. In fact, many of the more weathered agents (yes, Daniel Castle, we’re looking at you) will tell you their best years came during tougher times. Why? Because back then, offices were non-negotiable. Even if a company had to downsize or shift to a less sexy postcode, they had to do something. The market flexed with the economy.
Now? Whole different beast.
We’re still firm believers that the office is crucial to a company’s culture — where else are you going to build camaraderie, grab a Pret, and have a passive-aggressive showdown over the AC settings? But thanks to rapid tech adoption (turbocharged by those delightful lockdowns), the way we work has shifted, and fast.
And that brings us to the new elephant in the room: decision-making paralysis.
“Leadership: The Remix”
The old-school ‘command-and-control’ leadership style? It’s been quietly shown the door. In its place? Collaborative, empathetic leadership that actually listens to employees (shock, horror).
It’s brilliant, of course. Workplace culture has improved, employees feel heard, and no one’s being told off for not clocking in at 8:59am sharp.
But the flip side? Big decisions have become significantly harder. When you’re trying to factor in everyone’s opinion — from the CEO to Dan in product who prefers working from his shed in Dorset — decision-making becomes less about strategy and more like trying to plan a holiday with ten people who all have different ideas of ‘fun’.
We meet CEOs and founders all the time who know their teams work better in the office. They can see it. But the fear of rocking the boat — or worse, losing talent — is very real. So, they pause. They delay. They sit on the fence so long they’ve grown splinters.
“Decision Fatigue is Real”
Where your office sits, and how much of it you take is often one of the biggest numbers on your balance sheet. Get it wrong, and it stings.
Too much space? You’re burning cash. Too little? You’re cramping your team’s style.
The pressure to get it just right is creating a kind of corporate paralysis. It’s like dating apps; everyone’s so busy wondering if there’s a better match just one more swipe away, they never commit to the perfectly decent prospect right in front of them.
And like dating app fatigue, it’s exhausting. So people stop. They wait. They hope some divine intervention steps in
Spoiler: that’s not happening.
The bottom line?
Inaction is slowing things down and not just for brokers and agents, but for the economy as a whole.
The wait-and-see approach might feel safe, but it’s becoming a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We get it – the landscape is murky, and the stakes are high. But decisions still need to be made. Offices still matter. And someone’s got to be bold enough to move first.
