|
|
The New York Times Co. had planned to bring workers back to the paper’s Times Square offices part-time next month, but has now delayed their return “until conditions improve,” the company said in a statement.
Last week, city health officials placed the Big Apple on “high alert” for risk of new COVID virus infections.
The Times Co. set no date for returning workers to the company’s central office but said the delay will be “brief.”
In March, the Times told employees it expected them to be in the office at least three days a week by 6 June.
Workers’ unions at the Times and The Wall Street Journal have sought to negotiate return policies.
The WSJ has asked reporters to be in the office at least two days each week beginning in July. Workers may seek exceptions, the paper said.
Apple summoned workers back to central offices in April for at least one day each week, with a plan to raise the attendance requirement to three days a week by June.
The company had increased the days to two but sent employees a memo last week suspending the June deadline for a third day.
The extra day was delayed because of the increased number of COVID cases in the San Francisco area and because many workers have complained. Some have resigned over the demand for in-office time, The Wall Street Journal reported.
TREND FORECAST: Key elements of remote or hybrid work are here to stay.
Talented workers have too much leverage in today’s job market to be dictated to by bosses. Surveys have shown that a significant proportion of employees would quit before they would return full-time to a central office—and companies will go to some lengths to keep good workers happy.
While the new work model is good for employees, it spells doom for economic ecosystems downtown and along main travel routes that depend on commuters.
Demand for commercial office space is permanently shrinking and will lead to a commercial real estate bust in cities that have been the world’s business hubs for decades.
We forecast that at minimum, since remote work is part of the new Metaverse World, demand for downtown office space will contract by at least 15 to 20 percent. That would drive rents lower and flip many landlords’ buildings from profitability to deficit.
And, in the Metaverse world, it is also a savings for businesses to have a good portion of their staff work remotely so they can pay less rent. And besides the drudgery of commuting, with inflation skyrocketing, workers are saving money by not filling their gas tanks or paying for bus and train fares, clothing, lunch, etc., when they used to travel to work.
In traditional centers such as London, New York, and San Francisco, office rents will sink lower… well below pre-COVID War levels. Landlords will continue to cut rents to lure tenants, but many building owners will either sell or surrender their buildings to creditors.
As we often have said, the result will be a smaller tax base for many cities, resulting in reductions in services and, ultimately, in the quality of life.
For many people, cities, especially those where crime rates are rising, will become less desirable places to live. Therefore, the ex-urban locations will remain desirable. Also, as an antidote, advanced cities will experiment with new ways to streamline costs and offer services, becoming laboratories of innovation.