{"id":1004687793,"date":"2023-10-31T04:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004687793"},"modified":"2023-11-10T05:26:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T13:26:18","slug":"seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Winning Back-to-the-Office Formula"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Outdoor<\/a>

Outdoor terrace at the Kettner & Ash building in San Diego. Image courtesy of Haley Hill Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

More than three years after the COVID-19 lockdowns dispatched office workers to their kitchen tables, spare bedrooms and closets, getting them back into the office remains an arduous task. It seems that initial offers of free food a year or so ago didn\u2019t quite do the job<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, what do workers want in order to return to the office full time\u2014or at least with some regularity? To start with, more flexibility and the opportunity to at least save money, suggested Frank Weishaupt, CEO of communications equipment company Owl Labs<\/strong>, which recently released its 2023 State of Hybrid Work report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest reasons that employees are resisting return-to-office mandates is because they\u2019re spending an average of $51 per day on commuting, parking, food, coffee, pet care and other goods and services\u2014money they didn\u2019t need to spend the last three years, he added.<\/p>\n

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READ ALSO<\/strong>: Office Struggles, Adaptations: An Architect\u2019s Perspective<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cCompanies need to consider paying for employees\u2019 commuting costs, subsidizing food and beverages, and providing child or eldercare,\u201d Weishaupt declared. \u201cThe traditional perks that once worked are no longer cutting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emphasizing experience<\/h2>\n

Employers that recognize these challenges are focusing on creating workplace experiences<\/a> that exceed the work-from-home experience\u2014simply matching it fails to make up for the added costs and lost flexibility that accompanies returning to the office, said Bryan Berthold, global lead of workplace experience with Cushman & Wakefield<\/strong>. To do that, companies need to conduct surveys to find out what people want in an office environment.<\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/a>

Coffee shop at the Kettner & Ash building in San Diego, Calif. Image courtesy of Haley Hill Photography<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Typically, a handful of common items related to productivity show up in the surveys that Cushman & Wakefield conducts, he added, such as dual monitors, conference room video capabilities that work better than what employees have at home, and ergonomic chairs. More broadly, employees want to be able to work from home when they need to concentrate on a task and go into the office for collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies are really homing in on what matters most to their people,\u201d Berthold said. \u201cEmployees have had work-life flexibility for three years, but the minute mandates are implemented, workplace experience and engagement drop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albert DePlazaola, a senior principal with Unispace<\/strong>, a global strategy, design, project management and construction services firm, has seen similar technology demands in employee surveys. If the internet connection isn\u2019t stronger in the office or if the collaborative tools don\u2019t function any better than at home, it aggravates employees, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s less about having free dry cleaning and bone marrow and oysters for lunch,\u201d DePlazaola remarked. \u201cIt\u2019s more about being productive and collaborative and not simply doing the same things they would be doing at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happy team moments<\/h2>\n

Mosaic Construction<\/strong>, a fast-growing multifamily, commercial, residential and cannabis design-build firm based in Northbrook, Ill., surveyed its workers about a year ago when it began searching for new space. At that point, employees had largely already returned to the 2,200-square-foot office about four days a week, said Ira Singer, a founder of the company.<\/p>\n

\"Indoor<\/a>

Indoor putting green at Mosaic Construction\u2019s office in in Northbrook, Ill. Image courtesy of Mosaic Construction<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Mosaic eventually found 5,800 square feet that had not only been built out during the pandemic but that also provided better collaboration space, a large kitchen and private offices\u2014all of which were highlighted as needs. Other elements include an indoor putting green, brand new furniture, natural light and the ability to easily expand, he remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought about private offices and the type of huddle space that would allow people to shut their doors and work or have a meeting without a lot of distractions,\u201d Singer said. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on culture, and there has been a banding together where we are experiencing happy team moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landlords step up<\/h2>\n

While Mosaic found a landlord who happened to have space ready to move into, other office owners are making broad improvements that can help companies entice workers back. That\u2019s especially true in markets with high vacancy rates.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, for example, demand for office space was so high in the years leading up to the pandemic that building owners didn\u2019t need to provide many amenities to attract tenants, observed Wes Powell, an executive managing director with JLL<\/strong> in the market. But with the vacancy rate now at a record high of around 30 percent, San Francisco landlords are adding outdoor areas, conference facilities, meeting rooms, tenant lounges, bike parking and fitness centers, he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are things that have been happening throughout the U.S. for some time, and San Francisco is only now catching up,\u201d Powell said. \u201cLandlords are figuring out what they can do with their buildings physically and are making improvements pretty quickly in order to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

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READ ALSO<\/strong>: New Formulas for the New Office<\/a><\/p>\n

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In downtown San Diego\u2019s Little Italy district, owners of the Kettner & Ash building are leveraging an art-filled, warm and inviting hotel atmosphere and coffee shop in the lobby to attract tenants, as well as a third-floor indoor-outdoor lounge with a catering kitchen, lounge, bar and shuffleboard.<\/p>\n

The landlord also signed coworking firm Spaces<\/strong> to draw companies, said Derek Hulse, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield\u2019s San Diego office division, who represents building owners Divco West<\/strong> and Ocean West Capital Partners<\/strong>. The strategy has paid off. Last year, architecture firm Perkins & Will<\/strong> opened a San Diego office in the coworking space and then did a direct deal with the landlord.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe there will be a shift in the next couple of years, but for now, the hybrid work model is here to stay,\u201d Hulse explained. \u201cThere\u2019s been a realization that companies have excess space that they need to shed. But at the same time, companies still want highly amenitized and better-located space.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An in-depth look at the factors hindering employees\u2019 return\u2014and how they can be overcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":890,"featured_media":1004688106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21808,22251,23891,21742,21747,21785,51037],"tags":[32799,32796,51582],"class_list":["post-1004687793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-in-focus","category-national","category-latest","category-office","category-property-management","category-trends","tag-cushman-wakefield","tag-jll","tag-unispace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCreating a Winning Back-to-the-Office Formula - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A closer look at the main factors hindering employees\u2019 return to the office and how they can be overcome, according to experts in the field.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating a Winning Back-to-the-Office Formula\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A closer look at the main factors hindering employees\u2019 return to the office and how they can be overcome, according to experts in the field.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-31T12:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-10T13:26:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/10\/Outdoor-terrace.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"802\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Gose\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/\",\"name\":\"Creating a Winning Back-to-the-Office Formula - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/10\/Outdoor-terrace.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-31T12:36:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-10T13:26:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c65d4944b0b506742e79b5b1b9ecca26\"},\"description\":\"A closer look at the main factors hindering employees\u2019 return to the office and how they can be overcome, according to experts in the field.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/seeking-the-right-back-to-work-formula\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/10\/Outdoor-terrace.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/10\/Outdoor-terrace.jpg\",\"width\":802,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Outdoor terrace at the Kettner & Ash building in San Diego. 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