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后疫情时代,办公室有哪五大变化?

S. Mitra Kalita
2020-12-15

盖洛普民意调查显示,疫情期间远程办公的美国人当中有近三分之二愿意维持原状。

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美国的疫苗分发正紧锣密鼓进行中,办公室也逐渐开放。人们能回办公室上班了吗?

没那么快。

盖洛普民意调查显示,疫情期间远程办公的美国人当中有近三分之二愿意维持原状。对已经重返办公室的人来说,虽然未来几个月可能频率不高,也有必要重新考虑“返工”。

过去9个月里,工作、家庭以及各种事务都被迫彻底调整,我们再也没法回到疫情之前了。商业房地产出现剧变,从开窗通风到员工洗手间比例,企业对办公环境的需求更加挑剔。疫情对经济的影响并不一致,某些领域扩张,其他领域则缩减规模。研究表明,超过五分之一的成年人因疫情搬家,或有认识的人搬家。人们的通勤愿望或能力会受何种影响仍是未知数。

然而,办公室并未完全消失。事实上,随着企业面对新现实,并在员工中建立牢固的联系,——尽管这种联系极少与 “从前”完全相同,办公室的必要性可能比以往还要大

卡门•帕金斯是总部位于华盛顿的商业地产服务公司Civitas 的执行副总裁,她表示:“写字楼市场的未来是生产力。办公室位置变化可能不大,只是空间利用发生了变化。”

打造工作文化

疫情后办公室将更加关注打造并体现公司文化。为此,在实体办公室中将会出现更多的小组讨论室和聚会场所。公司决定了谁会去办公室以及为何去。聚集的理由则包括入职、培训、会议、团队建设和合作等。

“我们是典型的科技公司。工作时间表很灵活,亲子和产假计划都很慷慨,还有无限制的假期,”商业房地产技术平台VTS的创始人兼首席执行官尼克•罗米托激动地说,“虽然我们给员工充分的灵活性,实现起来仍然非常困难。投入大量时间搭建非常优秀的团队后,成员越发希望在一起。毕竟,如果人们整天盯着屏幕,很难碰撞出新想法。”

尽管有人担心使用Zoom视频会议太多造成疲劳,管理者还是希望保留聚会的民主化本质。

“地理位置更分散的大公司在安排Zoom谈话方面考虑得非常周到。如此一来,首席执行官能以更高效也更民主的方式与跨部门团队沟通,”帕金斯表示,“空间的意义变成了维护和建设文化。持续进行思想交互非常重要。他们都希望保留下去。”

居家办公成常态

疫情之前通勤时间越来越长。根据美国人口普查局的数据,2018年美国人平均单程通勤时间达到创纪录的27分钟。

疫情期间,人们为更好地平衡家庭与工作做出了许多重大决定,比如搬到离家人更近的地方,在湖边或树林旁再买套住房,在客卧或地下室装修或开辟办公室。曾被认为太偏远或远郊的地区房价更实惠,空间更大还有额外福利,例如附近有健步道,或者距离开市客超市很近。

Civitas创始人兼总裁、卡门的丈夫丹尼斯•帕金斯称,2020年三季度数据显示,虽然美国城市中心顶级写字楼租金走软,但续租率高于2019年。这一现象“告诉我们,经济低迷时期企业倾向于选择维持原状,在城市里稳定占据一席空间。”他也表示,虽然企业留在市中心,员工正向郊区转移。

丹尼斯•帕金斯说:“能看到整个地区的增长,你可能继续在华盛顿特区工作,但对巴尔的摩之类生活成本没那么昂贵的城市产生兴趣,尤其当技术不断进步,办公室的功能也不断变化,通勤次数其实能减少。”。

未来办公室将更加灵活

即便在疫情之前,公司也不愿签订长期租约,主要为了保持招聘和解雇的灵活性。这种情况还将持续或增加。

商业房地产经纪和咨询公司Civitas就遇到一个客户,要求建筑师开发过渡空间并安装可活动的模块化墙体。

新冠疫情爆发以来,房地产平台VTS新招聘了75名员工,以前办公室有250名员工,而现在的规模已然大了很多(325名员工)。

罗米托表示:“有很多同事都从未谋面,即便在企业文化和员工身上投资,不可能一夜之间确保远程办公也能复制同样的公司文化。”

设计和通风非常重要

房地产专家预测,即使人人接种疫苗,持续数月甚至数年的社交隔离之后人们会不适应近距离接触。人们渴望更大的办公空间,VTS提供的数据显示,理想办公面积平均为1200平米。到公司办公的人数会减少,或者错开时间表,但人们都希望保持安全距离。

丹尼斯•帕金斯表示:“人们需要感到健康和安全,希望环境保持清洁,不仅要节能绿色建筑,还得确保环境卫生。”若要符合人们预期,就要制定清洁标准、升级空气过滤器和过滤系统、限制电梯最大承载人数以及在公共区域和办公空间设置方向指示。

家庭要更好地支持工作,也要支持女性

还记得办公室如何变成有游戏室、保龄球馆、托儿所、干洗店和邮局的迷你城市吗?想象一下各项服务都离家更近,甚至可能就在公寓里该多方便。卡门•帕金斯引述称,疫情给女性造成负担过重,有必要安排住房以支持家庭。

“在家庭教育和日程安排等方面女性都承担了更多,更别提兼任快餐厨师了,”她边笑边说,“我们发现为了平衡生活和工作,出现了一些新的多户家庭。华盛顿一些有趣又华丽的大楼里现在有很多共享办公空间,还有游戏室之类灵活的适合家庭的设施。补上空档的并不是办公室。”(财富中文网)

译者:梁宇

审校:夏林

美国的疫苗分发正紧锣密鼓进行中,办公室也逐渐开放。人们能回办公室上班了吗?

没那么快。

盖洛普民意调查显示,疫情期间远程办公的美国人当中有近三分之二愿意维持原状。对已经重返办公室的人来说,虽然未来几个月可能频率不高,也有必要重新考虑“返工”。

过去9个月里,工作、家庭以及各种事务都被迫彻底调整,我们再也没法回到疫情之前了。商业房地产出现剧变,从开窗通风到员工洗手间比例,企业对办公环境的需求更加挑剔。疫情对经济的影响并不一致,某些领域扩张,其他领域则缩减规模。研究表明,超过五分之一的成年人因疫情搬家,或有认识的人搬家。人们的通勤愿望或能力会受何种影响仍是未知数。

然而,办公室并未完全消失。事实上,随着企业面对新现实,并在员工中建立牢固的联系,——尽管这种联系极少与 “从前”完全相同,办公室的必要性可能比以往还要大

卡门•帕金斯是总部位于华盛顿的商业地产服务公司Civitas 的执行副总裁,她表示:“写字楼市场的未来是生产力。办公室位置变化可能不大,只是空间利用发生了变化。”

打造工作文化

疫情后办公室将更加关注打造并体现公司文化。为此,在实体办公室中将会出现更多的小组讨论室和聚会场所。公司决定了谁会去办公室以及为何去。聚集的理由则包括入职、培训、会议、团队建设和合作等。

“我们是典型的科技公司。工作时间表很灵活,亲子和产假计划都很慷慨,还有无限制的假期,”商业房地产技术平台VTS的创始人兼首席执行官尼克•罗米托激动地说,“虽然我们给员工充分的灵活性,实现起来仍然非常困难。投入大量时间搭建非常优秀的团队后,成员越发希望在一起。毕竟,如果人们整天盯着屏幕,很难碰撞出新想法。”

尽管有人担心使用Zoom视频会议太多造成疲劳,管理者还是希望保留聚会的民主化本质。

“地理位置更分散的大公司在安排Zoom谈话方面考虑得非常周到。如此一来,首席执行官能以更高效也更民主的方式与跨部门团队沟通,”帕金斯表示,“空间的意义变成了维护和建设文化。持续进行思想交互非常重要。他们都希望保留下去。”

居家办公成常态

疫情之前通勤时间越来越长。根据美国人口普查局的数据,2018年美国人平均单程通勤时间达到创纪录的27分钟。

疫情期间,人们为更好地平衡家庭与工作做出了许多重大决定,比如搬到离家人更近的地方,在湖边或树林旁再买套住房,在客卧或地下室装修或开辟办公室。曾被认为太偏远或远郊的地区房价更实惠,空间更大还有额外福利,例如附近有健步道,或者距离开市客超市很近。

Civitas创始人兼总裁、卡门的丈夫丹尼斯•帕金斯称,2020年三季度数据显示,虽然美国城市中心顶级写字楼租金走软,但续租率高于2019年。这一现象“告诉我们,经济低迷时期企业倾向于选择维持原状,在城市里稳定占据一席空间。”他也表示,虽然企业留在市中心,员工正向郊区转移。

丹尼斯•帕金斯说:“能看到整个地区的增长,你可能继续在华盛顿特区工作,但对巴尔的摩之类生活成本没那么昂贵的城市产生兴趣,尤其当技术不断进步,办公室的功能也不断变化,通勤次数其实能减少。”。

未来办公室将更加灵活

即便在疫情之前,公司也不愿签订长期租约,主要为了保持招聘和解雇的灵活性。这种情况还将持续或增加。

商业房地产经纪和咨询公司Civitas就遇到一个客户,要求建筑师开发过渡空间并安装可活动的模块化墙体。

新冠疫情爆发以来,房地产平台VTS新招聘了75名员工,以前办公室有250名员工,而现在的规模已然大了很多(325名员工)。

罗米托表示:“有很多同事都从未谋面,即便在企业文化和员工身上投资,不可能一夜之间确保远程办公也能复制同样的公司文化。”

设计和通风非常重要

房地产专家预测,即使人人接种疫苗,持续数月甚至数年的社交隔离之后人们会不适应近距离接触。人们渴望更大的办公空间,VTS提供的数据显示,理想办公面积平均为1200平米。到公司办公的人数会减少,或者错开时间表,但人们都希望保持安全距离。

丹尼斯•帕金斯表示:“人们需要感到健康和安全,希望环境保持清洁,不仅要节能绿色建筑,还得确保环境卫生。”若要符合人们预期,就要制定清洁标准、升级空气过滤器和过滤系统、限制电梯最大承载人数以及在公共区域和办公空间设置方向指示。

家庭要更好地支持工作,也要支持女性

还记得办公室如何变成有游戏室、保龄球馆、托儿所、干洗店和邮局的迷你城市吗?想象一下各项服务都离家更近,甚至可能就在公寓里该多方便。卡门•帕金斯引述称,疫情给女性造成负担过重,有必要安排住房以支持家庭。

“在家庭教育和日程安排等方面女性都承担了更多,更别提兼任快餐厨师了,”她边笑边说,“我们发现为了平衡生活和工作,出现了一些新的多户家庭。华盛顿一些有趣又华丽的大楼里现在有很多共享办公空间,还有游戏室之类灵活的适合家庭的设施。补上空档的并不是办公室。”(财富中文网)

译者:梁宇

审校:夏林

Vaccines are being distributed and offices are beginning to open. So can we go back to our cubicles yet?

Not so fast.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers toiling remotely during the pandemic would like to keep doing so, according to a Gallup poll. And for those who do return to the office, even if infrequently in months to come, the notion of “return” needs to be rethought.

There’s no going back to what was. The last nine months have forced a drastic reset of work, home and all points in between. The upheaval in commercial real estate allows companies to be pickier about their needs, from open windows to lower employee-to-bathroom ratios. An uncertain pandemic economy means expansion for some sectors and downsizing for others. And studies show that more than one-fifth of adults moved due to COVID or know someone who did; how this affects their desire or ability to commute remains another unknown.

And yet the office is not entirely going away. In fact, it might be more needed than ever as companies pivot to new realities and forge bonds among a workforce that, in very few cases, looks identical to the so-called before times.

“The future of the office market is productivity. The location of the office space may not change much,” said Carmen Perkins, executive vice president of Civitas Commercial Real Estate Services LLC, based in Washington, D.C. "It’s the utilization of that space that changes.”

Creating a work culture

Post-pandemic offices will focus more singularly on creating and representing the culture of a company. That mission will drive physical spaces with more breakout rooms and gathering spots. It will dictate who comes to the office and why. Reasons to convene: onboarding, training, meetings, team-building and collaboration.

“We are the quintessential tech company. We have the most flexible work schedule, ambitious paternity and maternity programs, unlimited vacation,” rattled off Nick Romito, the founder and CEO of VTS, a commercial real-estate technology platform. “Even as liberal as we are to give people their flexibility, it’s still really hard. You invest all this time in building a really good team, those teams want to be together. Pushing ideas out of each other is really hard to do when you’re staring at a screen all day.”

Still, despite concerns over Zoom fatigue, the democratized nature of gathering virtually is something managers want to preserve.

“Larger companies that are more geographically dispersed have gotten really thoughtful around engineering Zoom conversations. CEOs have been able to interface with cross-functional teams in more productive and democratic ways,” said Perkins. “Space becomes about maintaining and building culture. Continuing the cross contamination of ideas is very important. They want to preserve that."

WFH is here to stay

Pre-pandemic, commutes were growing longer; the average American commute hit a record-high 27 minutes one way in 2018, according to the U.S. Census.

Families have made major life decisions in this pandemic to better balance home and work—moving closer to family, buying second homes on lakefronts or in the woods, renovating or creating offices in the guest bedroom or basement. Areas once considered remote or exurban are more affordable, offer more space and perks such as hiking trails and shorter lines at Costco.

Based on data in the third quarter of 2020, while rents in the country's top downtown office markets have softened, companies are renewing leases at a higher rate than in 2019, said Dennis Perkins, founder and president of Civitas and Carmen’s husband. That "tells us that during a downturn, companies have opted to stay put and maintain a consistent urban presence." However, while businesses are staying downtown, he says their workers are moving toward the suburbs.

“You are seeing the growth across the region," said Dennis Perkins. "You see interest in cities like Baltimore where you can still work in D.C. but have a less expensive lifestyle, especially if technology and changing office uses enable you to commute less often”

The office of the future is a much more flexible place

Even before COVID, companies were loath to sign long-term leases in order to maintain flexibility in hiring and firing. This will continue or increase.

Civitas, a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, has a client that asked its architect to develop transitional spaces and install modular movable walls.

VTS, the real-estate platform, has hired 75 people since the beginning of the pandemic, and will return to the office a much different company now (staff of 325) versus then (staff of 250).

“That’s a lot of people you’ve never met in person,” Romito said. “When you invest in culture and people, you can’t overnight take all that and translate that to a remote environment.”

Design and ventilation really matter

Even after vaccines, real-estate experts predict a transition to close quarters after months, even years, of social distancing. This has kept the desire for office space—13,000 square feet being the average size sought, according to VTS—about the same; fewer people will be coming into the office or stagger schedules but they want to maintain safe distances apart.

"People need to feel healthy and safe, that the environment is clean, and that these are environmentally healthy and not just energy efficient green buildings," said Dennis Perkins. That includes, he says, cleaning protocols, upgraded air filters and filtration systems, occupancy maximums on elevators and directional signage within common areas and office spaces.

Homes must better evolve to support work—and women

Remember how office parks turned into mini-cities with game rooms, bowling alleys, daycare centers, dry cleaners and post offices? Now picture all those services closer to home, maybe even within your apartment complex. Carmen Perkins cites the pandemic’s disproportionate burden on women and the need for housing to better support families.

“Women have shouldered much more of the homeschooling and schedule management, not to mention being short-order cooks," she said, laughing. "We have seen new multifamily developments respond to work-life balance. The interesting, attractive buildings going up in DC have coworking spaces built into them and flexible family-friendly amenities like playrooms. It’s not the workspace picking up the slack there.”

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