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Standard Chartered staff start using IWG’s shared-office space as it implements flexi-working in Hong Kong

  • ‘The IWG arrangement is an alternative to home and office. It’s an option we’re giving employees,’ Standard Chartered spokesman says
  • Standard Chartered’s deal with IWG gives bank’s 85,000 employees globally access to co-working operator’s 3,500 offices

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Standard Chartered is giving up eight floors at its Hong Kong headquarters as it implements a flexible working arrangement for employees. Photo: Bloomberg
Cheryl Arcibal

Standard Chartered employees in Hong Kong have started using co-working space operated by IWG as the bank implements the flexi-working arrangement announced late last year.

The London-based bank recently signed an agreement that gives its 85,000 employees globally access to IWG’s 3,500 offices around the world for a trial period of 12 months. Standard Chartered employs about 6,000 in Hong Kong.

“In Hong Kong, they have started to use our offices since the start of the month,” said Paul MacAndrew, country manager for IWG in Hong Kong. IWG operates 16 locations under three brands – Regus, Spaces and Signature – in the city.

A Standard Chartered spokesman confirmed the implementation of the flexible work arrangement. “We’re trialling this new approach for 12 months and it started on 1 February. If successful, we will make it part of our permanent workplace offering.”

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Standard Chartered, one of the city’s three note-issuing lenders, said in November that it planned to allow employees in nine markets, including Hong Kong, to apply for a formal flexi-working arrangement, meaning staff could split their time between the bank’s offices, at home or another premises, such as a co-working facility.

The move came after an internal survey found that about 10 to 15 per cent of employees globally said they needed to be in the office every day, while the rest wanted a more flexible arrangement or to avoid the office altogether.

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