As Tenants Accelerate Office Return Plans, Investors See an Opportunity
Remote work was expected to devastate the office sector. But suddenly many firms are switching gears and pushing for the returns of workforces.
April 14, 2021 | Patricia Kirk | Wealth Management
With vaccines demonstrating their effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 transmissions, hospitalizations and deaths, employers around the country are feeling more confident about asking their employees to start coming back to workplaces. During the depth of the pandemic, a number of companies either postponed their returns to the office until September 2021 at the earliest or announced that they would go fully remote. This trend toward a “remote work future” now appears to be reversing rapidly.
Within the past two weeks large U.S. employers, including Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Microsoft, Bloomberg, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and others, have announced they will start welcoming many office workers back months ahead of previously anticipated return dates. In some cases, such as at Google and Bloomberg, workers counting on the possibility of permanent remote work were met with news that it isn’t going to be a widely available option.
“Employers have lots to think about, but the narrative is changing favorably for the office sector as a result of vaccines,” says Dallas-based Jeff Eckert, president for U.S. agency leasing with real estate services firm JLL. Many larger companies have already announced plans to return to the office between July 4th and Labor Day, Eckert adds.
