As part of this report, Proveras reached out to industry leading commercial real estate offices in Dallas, London, and Paris, to ask the principals of these firms to share feedback and information as to how their respective markets are emerging from the Pandemic. While the responses differ market to market, all show a marked improvement from the depth of the crisis, which we believe is a good indicator for things to come in Canada:
In your estimation, what percentage of employees are back working in office on a regular basis?
Approximately 40% of people are back working in the office, with more and more coming-in every day. Because of vaccinations and community measures, confidence is way up.
-Scott Morse, Managing Partner | Citadel Partners | Dallas, U.S.A.
In central London, which is where the main office market is, I would say that currently, most offices are open but staff are not encouraged to come in. Whenever I go to the office, it still feels very quiet on the streets, approximately 25% of what it is normally. This is likely to change once Covid restrictions are gone (expected late this month).
-Lee Williamson, Director | Spring4 | London, England
Approximately 20%. Growing, but most companies expect a full return in Q4 2021.
-Michael Kaplan, Co-Managing Partner | Parella | Paris France
What would you say is the average number of days employees from knowledge-based businesses are working in office per week?
Remote working will form a bigger part of most businesses’ strategy. For knowledge-based businesses, expect employees to work 2 days per week remote and 3 days in-office. This will likely continue for the next year or two before reverting, on average, to more time in the office, and less time remote.
-Scott Morse, Managing Partner | Citadel Partners | Dallas, U.S.A.
It massively depends on the sector and type of job, but we feel that hybrid working, which was already happening here and which has accelerated due to Covid, will stick. Most office-based workers are expected to be in the office approximately 3 days a week moving forwards (if you are a back-office finance function you may not have any requirement to come to the office now unless for important meetings whilst if you are a media specialist, you will probably be in 5 days a week).
-Lee Williamson, Director | Spring4 | London, England
Our clients expect an average of 2 days of working at home and 3 days in-office post-covid.
-Michael Kaplan, Co-Managing Partner | Parella | Paris France
Was the return to the office environment driven more by employers or employees?
Both. For an example – Many of our C-suite contacts and clients are telling us that they are having trouble managing their people remotely. When someone is remote, you can only assess them on two primary metrics, being (I) are you making me money? and (II) have you successfully completed your projects? Remote work does not allow executives to see what kind of interpersonal leadership skills someone has, to see what contribution to culture they make, to (easily) oversee how they interact with clients, etc. Being remote also prevents executives from easily assisting someone who might be a hard worker and who might also be stuck on one or two little things that are holding them back. For employee development, job progression, and corporate culture, executives generally want people working in the office.
The common thought right now though is that offices have to be “purposeful”, both in the design, and in the reasons for employees being there. People will come to the office when they know there is a team meeting, or a presentation, or some collaborative activity happening.
-Scott Morse, Managing Partner | Citadel Partners | Dallas, U.S.A.
For the UK, it has been driven by relaxation of Government restrictions and employers making the decision to re-open. Most employees in London have been generally happy working from home as the typically long, costly public transport commutes have been avoided. Very few people drive in London. The main exception to this is younger generations who might be in centrally located flat/house shares. They have tended to be much more enthusiastic about coming back to the office for a change of scene and also to get closer to more senior employees in terms of development etc.
-Lee Williamson, Director | Spring4 | London, England
Employees are not widely back at the office yet, in Paris.
-Michael Kaplan, Co-Managing Partner | Parella | Paris France
How are restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues fairing in downtown areas, and do you envision any long-term negative effects?
Earlier this week, I took a client out to lunch and didn’t think I would need a reservation. The first place we showed up at had a 40-minute wait, and the second had a 30-minute wait.
Mask mandates have been lifted and bars and restaurants seem to be doing very well. Although, the younger people never really stopped going to bars. In Dallas, downtown has been hit more than the suburbs; it is not as vibrant as it was, but it is coming back quickly.
-Scott Morse, Managing Partner | Citadel Partners | Dallas, U.S.A.
Increased retail voids are expected once Government assistance drops off. Retail has been dying a slow death in the UK with increased internet retail activity but there is definitely still a future for entertainment type retailers – restaurants, bars etc.
-Lee Williamson, Director | Spring4 | London, England
You are not authorized to eat inside a restaurant – just in front – although this may change within few weeks.
People have gotten used to taking away their food and eating at the office.
-Michael Kaplan, Co-Managing Partner | Parella | Paris France
*Responses are not necessarily quoted verbatim.