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☆ Amazon calls workers back 5 days a week—other companies may be 'right behind them,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The decision marks a significant shift from Amazon's earlier policy, which required employees to badge in three days a week. Following the announcement, anxious workers have flooded LinkedIn and X feeds with posts wondering if their companies would be next to get rid of flexible work arrangements. Just one-third (33%) of U.S. companies require employees to come to the office five days a week, according to recent data from Flex Index, a platform that tracks companies' flexible work policies. Under 10% of tech companies with more than 1,000 employees have such a requirement. "We might see other smaller tech companies follow Amazon's lead, but most will continue sticking to some kind of hybrid arrangement," he says.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, we've, Dan Kaplan, haven't, Brian Elliott, hasn't, Kaplan, Elliott, we'll Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Amazon, Citigroup, Walmart, UPS, Kastle Systems, Flex, Workers, Employees Locations: Seattle , Washington, lockstep, U.S

☆ People keep coming back to the office, says Kastle Systems' Mark Ein
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPeople keep coming back to the office, says Kastle Systems' Mark EinMark Ein, Kastle Systems executive chairman, joins 'Money Movers' to continue the return to work discussion, if in-person work is more valuable for certain industries, and more.

Persons: Mark Ein Mark Ein Organizations: People, Kastle Systems

☆ The No. 1 mistake companies are making when designing the office for RTO, according to two CEOs
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It's no secret that people aren't going to the office as much as they used to. The "biggest mistake" companies make when thinking about the office itself, and its role in enticing people back in, says Cohen, is not understanding what their employees actually want from the office. "What many companies don't realize is that the office needs to give employees the space and resources for both collaborative and deep focus work, not one or the other," he explains. "What creates a great office experience, one that employees look forward to, is giving them a sense of choice," she explains. The businesses that don't adapt to employees' evolving preferences and needs, says Cohen, could see their offices become obsolete.

Persons: Andy Cohen, Diane Hoskins, Gensler, Cohen, Hoskin, Hoskins Organizations: Kastle Systems, John's, Employees, Employers, CNBC Locations: Bethesda , Maryland, St, New York

☆ This income-paying asset could be poised to rise in 2024 as interest rates cool
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-02 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

With interest rates expected to come down in 2024, real estate — a sector beloved for its steady income payments — could see upside in the new year. "When rates are low, a lot of income-oriented investors see that REIT dividend as very attractive, and they are willing to take the risks associated with equity investment to have this dividend payment." Jefferies is neutral on the office REIT sector but has raised its rating on Boston Properties to buy from hold. The senior housing occupancy rate was 84.4% in the third quarter of 2023, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care . That's up more than 6 percentage points from the pandemic low of 77.8%, but it's still off from the pre-pandemic occupancy rate of 87.1%.

Persons: REITs, Kevin Brown, Jefferies, Peter Abramowitz, Morningstar's Brown, it's, Brown, JPMorgan's Anthony Paolone, Ventas, — CNBC's Michael Bloom, Chris Hayes Organizations: Federal Reserve, Treasury, Boston Properties, Boston, National Investment Center, Seniors Housing & Care, Realty Locations: U.S, Boston, Friday's

☆ Return to office is 'dead,' Stanford economist says. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Return to the office is dead," Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University and expert on the work-from-home revolution, wrote this week. The share of paid work-from-home days has been "totally flat" this year, hovering around 28%, said Bloom in an interview with CNBC. "We are three and a half years in, and we're totally stuck," Bloom said of remote work. Why remote work has had staying powerThe initial surge of remote work was spurred by Covid-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. While remote work is the labor market's new normal, there's significant variety from company to company, Pollak said.

Persons: Nick Bloom, Bloom, hasn't, Julia Pollak, Pollak, it's Organizations: Stanford University, Survey, CNBC, Census, Research, Finance, Employers Locations: U.S

☆ New homeowners are fleeing their pandemic-era digs to be closer to the office, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Large employers like Apple, Google, and Tesla are calling employees back to the office. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . About 10% of US house sellers are looking to move specifically because of policies about working in the office, according to a September report by Redfin cited by the Journal. But it's also a boom for city housing markets, which was once sluggish thanks to high interest rates.

Persons: Tesla, —, Redfin, Elon Musk, it's Organizations: Apple, Google, Service, Wall Street, Journal, SpaceX, Elon Locations: U.S, New York, San Francisco, Austin

☆ Amazon and Meta are penalizing workers who don't return to the office. Experts say they should make a stronger case for working IRL first.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon and Meta have said you could be fired or dinged in your review for not going to the office. Focusing on days in the office misses a chance to tell workers how it could benefit their careers. Yet the flex misses a chance to have a savvier conversation over how being together can benefit workers' careers, experts say. I think the opportunity is for us to get off the silly construct of days in office," Garbarino said. Garbarino said leaders should look past days in the office and focus on what they can do to help their workers develop.

Persons: —, Chase Garbarino, Garbarino, Paul Knopp, Knopp, Benjamin Granger, Granger Organizations: Meta, Service, Amazon, Kastle Systems, KPMG US Locations: That's

☆ Golf simulators, doggy daycare, flexible leases, and free rent: Why now may be the best time to shop for a new office
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Now may be the time to shop for an office lease. As office vacancies soar to record highs in some markets, office landlords often have no choice but to find new and creative ways to attract new clients. "When you have 55-year-old managing partners of a law firm looking for office space, and they see the golf simulator, they get pretty excited," he said. Long-term leases, which usually feature landlord-financed renovations to the office space, are now being offered with lease-termination options. Office landlords without access to this capital level are often left with only one lever: renting below market price.

Persons: Michael Cohen, Michael Lirtzman, Anthony Tahlier, Andrew Lustgarten, Lirtzman, Sterling, Lustgarten, it's, Matt Petit, Goldman Sachs, Risa Letowsky, Letowsky, Watts, Tishman Speyer, aren't, That's, Cohen, they've, he's, hasn't Organizations: Colliers, Kastle Systems, West Chicago, Sterling Bay's, Century, El, New, Palm, Chase, Wall, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Adler, Stachenfeld, Silverstein, Lawyer Locations: Chicago, Bian, Sterling, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Liberty, Chase Manhattan, Alamo, CBRE, Los Angeles and New York, LA, United States

☆ The climate crisis is coming for your hoppy beer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“One of the side motives of this study was to illustrate how climate change might be important for even those who think it doesn’t matter,” Trnka told CNN. Now, each of the basic ingredients of today’s beer — water, barley, yeast and hops – are threatened by global warming. Researchers used weather data and climate models to analyze how European hops have been and will be affected by climate change between 1970 and 2050, assuming precipitation decreases and temperature increases. Felix Kästle/picture alliance/Getty ImagesIn recent years, more consumers are preferring beer aromas and flavors that require higher-quality hops, according to the study. Since these hops are only grown in smaller regions, researchers say they’re put at even higher risk from climate change-fueled heat waves and droughts.

Persons: Miroslav Trnka, ” Trnka, “, Beer, I’m, ”, Douglass Miller, ” Miller, Felix Kästle, they’re, Mark Sorrells, Sorrells, Trnka, it’s Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Change Research, Cornell University, Cornell University’s School, Integrative Plant Locations: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Pacific Northwest

☆ Offices remain half full after latest round of RTO mandates: Taking away hybrid could be a ‘betrayal’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Since the beginning of the pandemic, corporate bosses have used Labor Day as a benchmark to call workers back to offices. New data shows that office attendance rates have, indeed, picked up since 2020, though even the latest annual autumn push shows the limits to how many more people may return. It begs the question as another Labor Day return has come and gone: Is anyone taking new RTO announcements seriously? 1 reason people don't want to use their office, according to an October 2022 Gartner survey, followed closely by the cost of going into the office. Half of workers say RTO prioritizes leader desires over employee needs

Persons: it's, Caitlin Duffy, There's, Duffy, Natalie Norfus, I'm, Norfus, RTO Organizations: Google, Kastle Systems, Gartner, Labor Locations: U.S, Montana, Covid

☆ 90% of companies say they’ll return to the office by the end of 2024—but the 5-day commute is ‘dead,’ experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Google is factoring employees' in-office attendance into their performance reviews. A whopping 90% of companies plan to implement return-to-office policies by the end of 2024, according to an Aug. report from Resume Builder, which surveyed 1,000 company leaders. Nearly 30% say their company will threaten to fire employees who don't comply with in-office requirements. Even though more companies have introduced stricter in-office requirements for employees, office occupancy has remained relatively unchanged from the past year. In the U.S., employee productivity rose by 4.4% in 2020 and 2.2% in 2021, before falling in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Dan Kaplan, Kaplan, Amazon's Andy Jassy, Brian Elliott Organizations: Google, Kastle Systems, Companies, Korn, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: U.S

☆ The state of return-to-office policies: a post-Labor Day reset?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Some big-name employers are signaling they will get tough on enforcing their return-to-office mandates after Labor Day. It’s hard to say whether such moves by well-known companies signal a broader trend of employers getting serious about enforcing RTO policies. Meanwhile, one study suggests the hours employees spend at work on the days they do go in may be changing. The state of enforcementFor all the various data and research that seeks to capture the reality and impact of hybrid work policies, it’s hard to find nationally representative, statistically significant samplings of HR executives detailing their organization’s return-to-office policies or enforcement strategies. For example, the HR team at Gartner, which helps clients design and implement workplace policies, did a live poll survey of 225 of its HR clients during a webinar on May 31.

Persons: Andy Jassy, unaddressed, haven’t, webinar, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Labor, Amazon, Meta, Business, Merck, Kastle, Kastle Systems, Survey, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo, Stanford University, The University of Chicago, Gartner, ” Locations: New York, Kastle, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico

☆ The average Manhattan rent just hit a new record of $5,588 a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The average monthly rent in July was $5,588, up 9% over last year and marking a new record. Median rent, at $4,400 per month, also hit a new record, along with price per square foot of $84.74, according to a report from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. It was the fourth time in five months that Manhattan rents hit a record. Despite a loss in population during the pandemic, average rents in Manhattan are now up 30% compared to 2019. Yet despite the population loss and rise of remote work, Manhattan rents continue to soar.

Persons: Fatih Aktas, Miller Samuel, Douglas Elliman, Jonathan Miller, Miller, What's, Janna Raskopf Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty, Kastle Systems Locations: Manhattan, New York, United States, U.S

☆ Gen Zers want to be in the office. But their bosses are at home.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gen Z is more interested in working from the office than any other generation. "At JPMorgan, you're probably never going to be the smartest person in the room," he told Insider. Gen Zers see the office as a place to growDespite having grown up online, Gen Zers dislike working from home more than other generations. Among Gen Z, 57% want in-person jobs, according an online survey of about 3,100 US job seekers conducted by Jobslist in the final months of 2022. Joshua Roizman, a Gen Z employee at a software-development company , said he understood why some in other generations might not want to schlep back to the office.

Persons: Sam Farber doesn't, Farber, It'll, —, who've, aren't, Gen Zers, Slack, " Farber, Zehra Naqvi, Naqvi, She's, Z, Davina Ramkissoon, Joshua Roizman, Roizman Organizations: Service, JPMorgan, Kastle Systems, McKinsey Global Institute, Jobslist Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chicago, Asia, Europe, Dublin

☆ The Afterlife of Forlorn Office Furniture
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Stefanos Chen | More About Stefanos Chen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Herman Miller is one of the most revered makers of office furniture in the world, its designs so esteemed that its Aeron chair, which became a fixture of New York City cubicles, was put in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. This month, some Herman Miller chairs, which can retail for over $1,000, met a less dignified fate: an appointment with the crushing metal jaws of an excavator. More than three years after the coronavirus pandemic began, about half of the office space in the New York City metro area in June was occupied, according to Kastle Systems, a security-card company tracking activity in office buildings. The hollowing out of the city’s cubicles has raised existential economic and cultural questions, but also a big logistical one: What do you do with all that office furniture?

Persons: Herman Miller Organizations: Museum, Modern, New, Kastle Systems Locations: New York City

☆ We asked if people want to be in the office Mondays, Fridays — or neither. A big landlord says 5-day workweeks are dead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

One of New York City's biggest landlords said the office is dead on Fridays and maybe Mondays, too. Data on office occupancy rates also shows Mondays and Fridays are the most vacant days of the week. Insider asked readers on our LinkedIn page if they're going into the office on Mondays and Fridays, Mondays or Fridays, or neither. We asked: "Given the choice, do you go into the office on Mondays and Fridays?" A little less than half of the respondents said they wouldn't go into the office on either Mondays or Fridays.

Persons: —, Steven Roth, Misha Friedman, Robert Parlaman, Lakshmi Organizations: Service, Disney, LinkedIn, New York, San, Chicago, Washington D.C, Philadelphia, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Angeles, Systems Locations: York, Placer.ai, Atlanta, Jose, San Francisco, Lakshmi Varanasi, lvaranasi

☆ Huge New York landlord admits Fridays in the office are 'dead forever' — and Mondays are 'touch-and-go'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mondays in the office could be "dead forever," one of New York's biggest landlords says. One of New York's biggest private landlords, Vornado Realty Trust, is betting on hybrid work being here to stay. The firm's chairman, Steven Roth, told investors recently that office work on Fridays is likely "dead forever." Office visits on Mondays and Fridays, however, remain just half of what they were in 2019, according to the report. The current push toward hybrid work comes as some companies are doubling down on employees returning to the office.

Persons: —, we're, Steven Roth, Vornado, Bob Iger, that's, Kathryn Minshew Organizations: Placer.ai, Service, Vornado Realty, Street, Penn, Amazon, Meta, Disney, Employees, Kastle Systems, New York, San, Chicago, Washington D.C, Philadelphia, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Angeles Locations: Placer.ai, Arizona, Jose, San Francisco

☆ Martha Stewart slams hybrid work, compares US to France
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Martha Stewart has waded into the hotly contested remote work debate. Stewart compared the state of in-person work in the United States to France, calling it “not a very thriving country.”“Look at the success of France with their stupid … you know, off for August, blah blah blah. Stewart is not the only high-profile figure strongly advocating for in-person work. Some workers have told CNN the ability to work remotely has changed their lives for the better and that they would rather quit their jobs than return to in-person work. I never wake up dreading work because I am in the comfort of my home,” copywriter Ryan Bernsten told CNN last year.

Persons: Martha Stewart, Stewart, “, That’s, ” Stewart, ”, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Elon Musk, Ryan Bernsten Organizations: CNN, Footwear, JPMorgan, Telsa’s, Kastle Systems Locations: United States, France

☆ The Big Number: 49%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Emma Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Business leaders have often found that the best way to fill the office is to remind employees of its social promise. “They actually forgot how great it was to actually interact with human beings,” said Sasan Goodarzi, the head of Intuit, which has allowed teams and managers to set return to office expectations. Maybe the biggest R.T.O. perk of all is the people. But that requires figuring out how to get those people to come back.

Persons: “, ”, Sasan Goodarzi Organizations: Intuit

☆ Office Workers Hate the Commute, Not the Office - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Farhad Manjoo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk says we should all get off our duffs and go back to the office. Factory workers, service workers and construction workers can’t work from home, so why do people in the “laptop classes” think they should be able to do so? Musk isn’t alone among corporate executives in seeing employees’ reluctance to return to the office as a genuine economic problem. Companies have tried carrots — redesigning offices — and they’ve tried sticks, like reversing remote work policies at the same time they announce huge layoffs. Remote work looks like it’s turning from a pandemic necessity into a permanent feature of the American workplace.

☆ Office landlords are in store for retail redux
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Office landlords are in store for pain, but there’s a light at the end of the hallway. Though vacancy rates in the United States recently hit a 30-year high, owners of retail space – shopping malls and grocery stores – have shown that a bounce back is possible. A reset is in store, but the best office landlords can make it, too. But retail real estate, which includes everything from malls to shopping centers, went through its own misery. It might be a slog, as retail shows, but office could be in store for a redux.

☆ New York Is Full of Empty Offices After Covid. Make Way for the Playground City. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Edward L. Glaeser | Carlo Ratti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +20 min

We are witnessing the dawn of a new kind of urban area: the Playground City. The transformation toward the Playground City will not happen on its own. To draw people into the Playground City, we need to show, not tell. 6.Engage citizensGovernments should empower citizens to participate directly in making the Playground City. The Playground City sees people as both a means and an end, and it should involve them in the process of its creation.

☆ DC Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to expand tax breaks for developers turning empty downtown offices into much-needed housing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DC's mayor has proposed an expansion of tax relief for developers who convert offices into residences. The city has more than 20 million square feet of unused office space — an unprecedented vacancy rate, according to the DowntownDC Business Improvement District's 2021 report. —Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 15, 2022The mayor and city officials say the tax relief, called the Housing in Downtown (HID) Abatement, is necessary to incentivize and speed up costly commercial building transformations. "We know that creating new housing in downtown will lead to a more vibrant neighborhood and 24/7 economy. The Housing in Downtown Abatement Program will incentivize more conversions, and bring about more housing affordability and retail opportunities."

☆ JPMorgan ends remote work for senior bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —America’s largest bank is ending pandemic-era hybrid work for its senior staff. “Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses,” JPMorgan Chase told staff in a memo. JPMorgan said it would maintain hybrid working options for thousands of employees who are required to have three days in the office. In the memo, the bank issued a warning to staffers who are struggling to hit that minimum. Another motivation for JPMorgan: A year ago, the bank unveiled a design for a new global headquarters in New York.

☆ American offices are half-empty. That could be the next big risk for banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“I’m more concerned than I’ve been in a long time,” said Matt Anderson, managing director at Trepp, which provides data on commercial real estate. About $270 billion in commercial real estate loans held by banks will come due in 2023, according to Trepp. Questions about the health of banks with sizable exposures to commercial real estate loans cause customers to pull deposits. That forces lenders to demand repayment — exacerbating the sector’s downturn and further damaging the banks’ financial position. The likeliest outcome is thought to be an uptick in defaults and reduced access to funding for the commercial real estate industry.

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