The Economist (July 10)
“Remote work has a target on its back.” Many CEOs “are intent on making working from home a relic of the pandemic…. With bosses clamping down on the practice, the pandemic-era days of mutual agreement on the desirability of remote work seem to be over.” Around the globe, “plans for remote working by employers fall short of what workers want.”
Tags: Agreement, CEOs, Clamping down, Desirability, Employers, Home, Pandemic, Remote work, Target, Workers
Financial Times (June 25)
“A long-anticipated reckoning is under way in the US commercial property industry…. Sharply rising rates, a regional banking crisis that curtailed credit and a trend towards remote work are all wreaking havoc. Older office buildings have borne the brunt of the downturn, but other real estate categories have not been spared.” In New York City, the value of office buildings is “estimated to have dropped by $76bn from their most recent sales price.”
Tags: Anticipated, Commercial property, Credit, Downturn, Havoc, Office buildings, Reckoning, Regional banking crisis, Remote work, Rising rates, U.S.
Yahoo Finance (June 2)
“There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding commercial real estate, with all eyes on the office space. From research notes published by the big banks to academic papers, it’s not looking too good for the sector that has been plagued by remote work.”
Tags: Academic papers, Big banks, Commercial real estate, Office space, Remote work, Research notes, Sector, Uncertainty
Fortune (April 4)
“After the banking crisis, could the next domino be all those empty office buildings in your downtown? Investors and economists are sounding the alarm about the commercial real estate market, seeing trouble ahead with refinancing. This sector has been hit hard for years now with the shift to remote work bringing about rising vacancy rates and falling property values.”
Tags: Alarm, Banking crisis, Commercial real estate, Domino, Downtown, Economists, Empty, Investors, Market, Office buildings, Refinancing, Remote work, Sector, Trouble, Vacancy rates
Wall Street Journal (April 3)
“For decades, American cities have had a parking problem: too much of it. Countless residential parking spots go unused, and many downtown garages sit half empty. Ride-sharing and the rise of remote work during the pandemic have aggravated the trend.” In response, “cities are shrinking the number of spaces, freeing up the land for other uses, with far-reaching consequences.”
Tags: Aggravated, Cities, Consequences, Downtown, Empty, Garages, Pandemic, Parking spots, Problem, Remote work, Ride-sharing, Trend, U.S., Unused
Market Watch (March 27)
Remote work was one of the “few positives” to emerge from the pandemic. Its various benefits have proven “particularly important for working women.” The U.S. birthrate has now slipped to just 1.6., well below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. Remote work “could be a simple and cost-effective way to help women achieve a work-life balance and increase fertility rates for those who want to have children…. U.S. employers should take note, and be more willing to continue remote and hybrid work.”
Tags: Benefits, Birthrate, Children, Cost-effective, Employers, Fertility rates, Pandemic, Positives, Remote work, Replacement rate, Simple, U.S., Work-life balance, Working women
Institutional Investor (October 3)
“Two and half years after the beginning of the pandemic — and the mass migration into remote work — some of the biggest asset managers have decided that it’s finally time to get back to the office.” While a range of plans are being prepared, CEOs seem to be favoring the “3-2 model” with three office days and two remote days. “Besides concerns over corporate culture and employee burnout, decision-makers in the asset management industry also cited better innovations, teamwork, and apprenticeship as reasons for returning to the office.”
Tags: 3-2 model, Apprenticeship, Asset managers, CEOs, Corporate culture, Decision-makers, Employee burnout, Innovations, Office, Pandemic, Remote work, Teamwork
Boston Globe (July 14)
“The Boston-Cambridge economy may never be the same after the COVID-19 pandemic.” Throughout the region, a “long-term acceptance of remote work and changes in commuting and travel habits” are expected to continue. As employees spend less time in the office, “demand for office space could drop by up to 20 percent, and commuter rail usage could fall between 15 and 50 percent from pre-pandemic levels.”
Tags: Acceptance, Boston, Cambridge, Commuter, Commuting, COVID-19, Economy, Employees, Office, Pandemic, Remote work, Travel habits
Fortune (June 13)
“Before the pandemic, Japan’s workforce faced longstanding problems, like chronic overwork, low productivity, and too few women. Letting employees work from home may have helped ease all three, in addition to preventing the spread of COVID. But Japan’s failure to more fully adapt means it will likely miss out on the carry-on benefits of remote work that some corporations elsewhere are warming to.”
Tags: Adapt, Benefits, Covid, Employees, Failure, Home, Japan, Longstanding, Overwork, Pandemic, Productivity, Remote work, Women, Work, Workforce
San Francisco Chronicle (March 24)
“Remote work is here to stay. Post-pandemic, many companies will let employees work remotely some or all of the time.” To support them, “a new executive position is emerging: The head of remote. That person spearheads keeping remote workers engaged, encouraging them to collaborate, while designing perks and flexibility tailored to their needs. Another goal: replicate the spontaneous connections that happen at in-person offices—in other words, create a virtual water cooler.”
Tags: Collaborate, Employees, Encouraging, Engaged, Flexibility, Head of remote, In-person, Perks, Post-pandemic, Remote work, Spearheads, Spontaneous connections, Support, Virtual water cooler
