India Emerges as PropTech Hotspot Amid Changing Office Use: Report The findings, based on a survey of more than 5,200 employees across 14 markets, underline how India's workforce is resetting expectations around performance rather than perks.
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While three-quarters of office workers worldwide identify noise, frequent distractions, and lack of quiet spaces as the biggest impediments to productivity, Indian employees are voicing different frustrations, according to a report by Unispace named 'Global Workplace Insights 2025–2026'.
The findings, based on a survey of more than 5,200 employees across 14 markets, underline how India's workforce is resetting expectations around performance rather than perks.
"Employees are asking for better-fitted spaces, rock-solid tech, and frictionless focus. Get the basics right, and India's talent will do the rest," said Abi Roni Mattom, Country Director of Unispace India.
The contrast comes as office attendance continues to decline globally. The report notes that employees are now in the office for an average of 2.9 days per week, down from 3.7 in 2024.
Indian workers spend just over half their weekly hours in the office, approximately 52 percent, which is almost ten percent less than the global average. Yet unlike their peers elsewhere, Indian employees are among the most optimistic about the future of physical offices. Ninety-eight percent believe there will still be a need for an office by 2030, compared to 93 percent globally, making India the most bullish market surveyed.
How offices are used is also changing. Only 27 percent of Indian employees work at a dedicated desk, the lowest proportion among all countries worldwide. The report notes that they prefer meeting rooms, collaboration spaces, and social hubs, and they go to the office primarily for access to technology, opportunities for learning and mentoring, and social connection. Globally, collaboration emerges as the primary driver, but in India, the mix of motivations is more nuanced and deeply tied to performance outcomes.
"The data underscores that the future of Indian workplaces will be less about rows of desks and more about spaces for training, mentoring, and social connection. Employers who get this right will not only attract top talent but also future-proof their workplace strategies," said Swatasiddha Majumdar, Principal of Strategy at Unispace India.
For investors, these shifts are beginning to define an emerging market opportunity. Real estate technology and PropTech startups are seeing momentum, and so are those firms that enable better office performance.
One VC explicitly weighed in: Accel partners Shekhar Kirani and Prayank Swaroop previously said that Indian AI startup founders risk falling behind their international counterparts. While they acknowledged that Indian technical ability is strong, they said that urgency and global vision are often lacking, suggesting that simply having good tech isn't enough; how quickly and broadly it is deployed matters.
India's more than 1,500 PropTech startups, many of them working on smart building systems, space analytics, flexible work environments, and modular design, are in a strong position. Flexible office operators like Awfis and Incuspaze are also scaling up, and are responding to demand not just for more space but for better space.
Despite a somewhat cooler funding environment overall (with PE-VC investment dropping YoY in some quarters), investors continue to be interested in founders and companies that solve workplaces' operational friction: companies that can guarantee reliable connectivity, modular/adaptive office layouts, environmental control, and data on usage and experience are likely to stand out.
"India's growth in VC deal volume and value shows investors are more confident than many expect," noted Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData.
"What will differentiate success is not just funding size, but how well startups can address challenges that employees are living every day, how physical space, support systems, and technology come together to enhance productivity," as reported by WealthBriefing.
