Real cost of flex-offices: discourse and reality

Purpose This paper aims to draw on the field of real estate management to explore the cost of flex-offices as well as the corporate discourse toward it and to identify the possible gap between real estate directors' discourse and the real cost of flex-offices. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows the grounded theory approach. Three studies were conducted: 16 semi-structured interviews with real estate actors, categorization of internal corporate documents and a thorough content analysis of the press discourse. Findings There is a positive vision as well as a very optimistic outlook on the flex-office on the part of real estate actors and the press. This research shows that reality does not reflect the discourse as 12 hidden costs identified are not currently factored into costs when setting up a flex-office, which can distort the discourse and efficiency. It will be interesting to measure those hidden costs in future research so as to have an objective discourse and a better cost estimate when deploying this kind of workspace. Originality/value Contradict the widespread discourse about flex-offices by highlighting the hidden costs that should be taken into consideration to allow managers to make accurate estimates. Although these hidden costs may seem ancillary at first sight, they might have an impact on efficiency.