Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Work Transformed newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here.
Kathryn Vasel followed her own good advice and took the week off to recharge. For today’s newsletter, CNN Business’ Jeanne Sahadi is our guest writer.
With any luck, there are some things that you really, really like about working from home. Because there’s a fair chance you might be doing it permanently.
A survey from consulting firm KPMG found that 68% of large company CEOs plan to downsize their office space, CNN Business’ Matt Egan reports. Nearly three-quarters said they plan to spend more on digitizing their operations. And two-thirds will invest in creating a new workforce model.
Those are allfancy ways of saying the office as we know it may be dead. And in its place there will be less square footage, fewer people on site, and more functions that are automated or handled by artificial intelligence.
By shrinking their companies’ real estate footprint and operating even more nimbly than before, CEOs figure they’ll save money and increase their opportunity to hire the best human talent (that’s you) from any place, since employees will be able do their jobs anywhere.
If this vision seems a little extreme to you, some commercial real estate executives would agree. Read on to hear what they have to say about the future of the office.
WFH isn’t hurting productivity
Working from home is working. It’s really working.
More than 90% of US employers surveyed recently by HR consulting firm Mercer said productivity during the pandemic has been the same or better than it was before the crisis.
Looking ahead, 83% said they plan to implement flexible work on a greater scale than they did before Covid-19 hit.
Here’s what that means: Nearly three-quarters of companies now anticipate 25% or more of their employees will work remotely. And roughly the same number expect to offer employees more flexibility in the hours they work.
They would never do so, of course, if they didn’t appreciate what’s in it for them (see above). But they also recognize the potential win-win for employees, who often consider it a desirable benefit in any job. And that, in turn, helps companies attract and retain talent.
Employers in the survey, however, still expressed qualms about how smoothly their company might transition to a more flexible work culture. One big concern: resistance from managers and/or a lack of skills on their part to successfully manage a flexible workforce.
Here’s more on the survey’s findings.
Commute to your backyard
Sick of working at your kitchen table or in your bedroom? Need a little quiet time away from your kids or partner? A backyard office shed may hold the key to your sanity.
They’ve become a thing these days, and judging from the photos, a pretty snazzy-looking thing at that.
Business has been booming this year for shed builders. One who spoke to CNN Business’ Anna Bahney said that since May, his company has been selling five to 10 times more units per month than it did in the same period last year.
While delivery times have gotten a bit longer with the surge in purchases, typically once you order a shed and customize it online, you can get it in a few weeks.
A nicely outfitted shed isn’t cheap, though– it might set you back $10,000 to $15,000.
For more on the shed trend, click here.
Miss office banter? There’s an app for that
While I love working from home, I do miss having spontaneous face-to-face conversations with colleagues in the break room, the elevator or just around our desks.
Some companies have created audio platforms that promise a more “human experience” in our remote exchanges with coworkers that is lacking on video calls, emails and Slack chats, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
For instance, the newspaper notes, through the use of conversation “rooms,” the voice platform Watercooler “aims to re-create the casual conversation of employees on their way to a meeting or before lunch.”
Um, okay.
But do we all have the bandwidth to keep track of yet another remote communication tool and still not get the satisfaction of seeing someone in-person?
Coffee break
It’s okay in 2020 if your living room paint color looks sexier than you. Being chic and on trend this pandemic has been way more about home improvement than haute couture.
But good news! Now you don’t have to choose. Top fashion designers, like Jason Wu, Rebecca Minkoff and Christian Siriano, will feature Lowe’s products in their upcoming (digital) New York Fashion Week shows, CNN’s Alexis Benveniste reports.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something that pairs well with your newly re-grouted shower tiles.
