WorkMatters’ Post

One of the things that makes me proudest about our Flex Index work is the way we've been able to support high quality reporting on hybrid work trends. This past week we were in The Wall Street Journal twice. That marks 20 WSJ articles that we've provided insight for in the last ~12 months. Here's the full list across a range of topics if you're interested in checking it out! (1) The Power of Finding the Sweet Spot of Hybrid Work - https://shorturl.at/HfHN3 (2) The ‘Coordination Tax’ at Work Is Wearing Us Down - https://shorturl.at/ZXyPN (3) The Office Market Is In Turmoil. So Why Are Rents More Expensive? - https://shorturl.at/VUDbQ (4) The Companies Calling Workers Back to the Office Five Days a Week - https://shorturl.at/SlXZZ (5) The Real-Estate Downturn Comes for America’s Premier Office Towers - https://shorturl.at/rY0ie (6) The Office Market Had It Hard in 2023. Next Year Looks Worse. - https://lnkd.in/eqmwCPxm (7) Think Companies Are Struggling to Fill Offices? Look at the Government. - https://lnkd.in/eNxEiWrv (8) Even a Booming Economy Can’t Save Atlanta’s Office Market - https://lnkd.in/eWBpz6JH (9) Why is Everyone So Unhappy at Work Right Now? - https://lnkd.in/e2GafR7w (10) Bosses Aren’t Just Tracking When You Show Up to the Office, but How Long You Stay - https://lnkd.in/eeVH9wp5 (11) Hollywood Strike is Over but Studio-Space Developers Face New Dilemmas - https://lnkd.in/eGYk_ABf (12) The Companies Bringing the Office to Remote Workers - https://lnkd.in/eA-uxn7S (13) Attention Office Resisters: The Boss Is Counting Badge Swipes - https://lnkd.in/eensTusD (14) Office Tenants Are Renewing Leases — but for Far Less Space - https://lnkd.in/eGYYxznw (15) Need to Hire Workers in a Hot Job Market? Let Them Do Some Remote Work - https://lnkd.in/eJBAWwnB (16) Monday Are the New Office Fight - https://lnkd.in/eeYqsa4y (17) Vacant Office Are Piling Up in Silicon Valley - https://lnkd.in/ezNxHiaB (18) Where You Can Still Find a Work-From-Home Job - https://lnkd.in/e_qig4i6 (19) A New CEO Says Employees Can’t Work Remotely After All, and They Revolt - https://lnkd.in/e8FTUdJF (20) The Return to the Office Has Stalled - https://lnkd.in/eeCa9uZe

Data matters in our tech-driven modern work landscape. Data matters if you are tracking your employees performance or their badge swipes or competitors’ policies because you want to get a sense of what they’re enforcing, or not. Data matters to your employees too. They care about flexibility and autonomy. They are reading #rto results, rethinking, and reversals. They want to work for a company that makes data-backed strategic decisions that help them perform well and enable the business to compete. The Flex Index is a great place to source that data. See below for a interesting and informative range of articles that highlight some important research and work policy trends. Other great research from wfhresearch.com as well as Global Workplace Analytics and other sources that can support competitive updates to critical talent-related policies.

That's interesting point! #hybridwork #3dayworkweek Reducing transportation could indeed have a significant impact on emissions and mitigating climate change. 1. #Remote work: Encourage remote work options for employees who can perform their tasks from home or virtual offices. 2. #Virtualmeetings: Promote virtual meetings and conferences instead of in-person meetings that require travel. 3. #ECommerce: Encourage online shopping and e-commerce to reduce the need for physical transportation of goods. 4. #Local sourcing: Prioritize local sourcing of goods and services to reduce transportation distances. 5. #PublicTransportation: Invest in efficient public transportation systems and promote their use. 6. #ElectricVehicles: Encourage the adoption of electric vehicles for personal and commercial transportation. 7. #SupplyChainOptimization: Optimize supply chain logistics to reduce transportation distances and frequencies. 8. #Urbanlanning: Design cities and communities with a focus on walkability, bikeability, and public transportation access.

Interesting point! The office of future must not be like a factory site where workers move in batches , instead it must be flexible freespaces in villages... Reducing transportation to work could indeed have a significant impact on reducing emissions and mitigating climate change.#hybridwork & #4dayworkweek may help achieve it. 1. #Remote work: Encourage remote work options for employees who can perform their tasks from home or virtual offices. 2. #VirtualMeetings: Promote virtual meetings and conferences instead of in-person meetings that require travel. 3. #ECommerce: Encourage online shopping and e-commerce to reduce the need for physical transportation of goods. 4. #LocalSourcing: Prioritize local sourcing of goods and services to reduce transportation distances. 5. #PublicTransportation: Invest in efficient public transportation systems and promote their use. 6. #EV Electric vehicles: Encourage the adoption of electric vehicles for personal and commercial transportation. 7. #SupplyChainOptimization: Optimize supply chain logistics to reduce transportation distances and frequencies. 8. #UrbanPlanning: Design cities and #communities with a focus on walkability, bikeability, and public transportation access. #Line

I remain fascinated and concerned about the long-term outcomes or urban downtowns with empty office buildings. Fast Company published a guide to designing offices that will appeal to workers. It's premium content behind a paywall. > So far, the data points to hybrid work as the new normal. A recent McKinsey report found that 56% of those surveyed have a regular hybrid work arrangement, and go into the office somewhere between one to four days a week. That number is even higher for millennial respondents, suggesting a lasting shift among those who will be in the workforce longer. > It's up to us to figure out what employees need and want, and where, and what mix of workday experiences our individual businesses need to thrive. One thing seems to be a lasting truth, office workers are no longer the lifeblood of downtowns, providing markets to small businesses and a critical mass of human energy. #office #hybridwork

A must-read from Nick Bloom with insights on return-to-office mandates, remote and hybrid work, and the shift that the term "going to work" has taken, for the better. "Change isn’t easy. Some downtowns will need to reinvent themselves. But rarely as an economist do I see a change so profoundly positive for the majority of America’s businesses and workers. We should support the working-from-home revolution that has finally yielded a win-win-win. Companies, employees and society all benefit." https://lnkd.in/eW2TPAjQ #remotework #hybridwork #returntowork #futureofwork

You might have thought that by the end of May, with the pandemic officially over, people would be getting back to the office. But a new report suggests that the share of workers in-office full time is actually shrinking as hybrid work is growing. The share of people in the office full time dropped to 42% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 49% in the first quarter, according to The Flex Report, which collects insights from more than 4,000 companies employing more than 100 million people globally. Meanwhile, the share of offices with hybrid work arrangements hit 30% in the quarter, up from 20% the previous quarter. #hybridofficespace #modernworkspaces #commercialrealestate #hybridofficelife #leasenegotiation #chicagobroker #chicagoofficespace #hotdesk #hybridage #returntotheoffice

I keep seeing these kinds of projections that point to the staying power of flexible and distributed work. If these trends play out (and I think they will), then organizations will need to make significant investments to equip managers to lead distributed teams effectively. Leadership was already a difficult endeavor. The added complexity of flexible and remote work will require most of us to develop new leadership “muscles” and habits. Question for us all: What can I do to prepare my leaders for the emerging flexible work realities?

"The traditional 9-to-5, suited-up office worker spending their days in a cubicle farm ... is quickly fading into history." Dr. Gleb Tsipursky just wrote one of the most compelling pieces I've read to date on the death of full time in office work. He argues: (1) The most innovative thinkers recognize that full time in office mandates cost money, hamper agility, and repel top talent. (2) Work location flex allows small firms to punch above their weight when it comes to talent attraction and cost management. (3) 2-3 days / week in the office will become the standard for most knowledge workers, with the companies allowing employees to choose outperforming the ones that are rigid in requirement. Thanks for leveraging our latest Flex Index data for the story! #futureofwork #flexibleworking

Revenue at companies with flexible work-from-home policies grew four times faster than those with in-person requirements, according to a new study.The findings, from a survey that analyzed 556 public companies that employ a collective 26.5 million people across 20 sectors, represent a significant blow for proponents — and owners — of office space. Firms that allow their employees to either work entirely from home or pick the days they come in increased sales 21% between 2020 and 2022, per the survey. Companies with hybrid or full-time office policies saw revenue growth of just 5%. Among the companies that do require office work, those that allowed just a few days in-person saw sales go up at twice the rate of those that demanded workers come into the office full-time.The remote work debate has raged for years now, as workers, employers and office landlords have debated the best way to drive productivity.