Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories at BizTimes.com taking a deep dive into how industries and areas of life have changed in the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Opinions remain divided on the health of workforce culture amid the rise of remote work during the COVID-19
Editor's note: This is part of a series of stories at BizTimes.com taking a deep dive into how industries and areas of life have changed in the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States.
Opinions remain divided on the health of workforce culture amid the rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, office space brokers with area commercial real estate firms Colliers | Wisconsin and JLL say that companies across industries are aligning with the same trend: balancing appropriate and functional workspaces in a hybrid atmosphere.
It has been just over five years since the pandemic began, which sparked a myriad of changes in the workforce as employers and employees adapted to a new, digitally focused environment that enabled many employees to work from home. As the pandemic wound down, some of those employees returned to the office full-time, others adapted on a hybrid basis working part time in the office and still others opted to remain completely remote.
Employers have been trying to adapt to this dynamic. In this era of hybrid work, team dynamic, workplace culture, and the need for office real estate are challenged in the absence of on-site employees.
Several of Colliers' tenants are looking to move into smaller spaces or spaces with added amenities to accommodate hybrid work, said Jenna Maguire, vice president of Colliers Wisconsin.
"Sometimes relocating is just easier," Maguire said. "(Companies) are acknowledging that hybrid is going to be part of their model going forward, so they're rethinking what their office space looks like based on the number of people who might be in day to day."
Although many companies' remote work policies have been updated after COVID, some are incentivizing in-office work through the addition of amenities to the workspace and the consolidation of personal desk space.
"Companies that are really prioritizing their employees are spending on 'amenitizing' their space with really nice lunch rooms, a food service or a really tricked out beverage or coffee machine," said Julia Howe, vice president of tenant representation at JLL.
If companies decide to move, whether it be expanding or consolidating into a smaller space, many are prioritizing communal space in a new office, which in turn, means employees may have less ownership over their workspace, Howe said.
"Desk sizes have shrunk and there's an emphasis on building out more meeting rooms so that people can use them as needed," she said.
Milwaukee is on-par with the national average of working three days per week from the office and two from home, according to Howe's survey of JLL's tenants.
At Milwaukee-based law firm von Briesen & Roper, however, a majority of lawyers and associates value in-office work post-COVID and prefer to work from the office in some capacity, despite an uptick in hybrid work, according to Susan Lovern, president and CEO of von Briesen & Roper.
[caption id="attachment_609264" align="alignleft" width="300"] Susan Lovern[/caption]
Von Briesen’s main office, located at 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee, houses over 200 employees across four floors within the 30-story building. On any given day, roughly 70% of the staff are working in the office, with the other 30% working from home as part of von Briesen’s hybrid work model, a policy that was introduced during the pandemic.
“I think that our people really appreciated the flexibility to use remote work when they needed to, as long as client needs were being met,” said Lovern.
Prior to the pandemic, von Briesen’s limited remote work policies were catered to fit the needs of the attorneys. Von Briesen’s staff was primarily in-office with occasional remote work, which was often situational. In the likeness of companies across the nation, von Briesen pivoted to fully remote work for 10 months during the pandemic, with the exception of a small set of employees whose job tasks could not be done remotely. Once the COVID vaccines became available, the company pivoted again, requiring certain staff to be on-site a minimum of four days per week, and professionals a minimum of three.
The current policies align with those that were instated when employees returned after the 10-month shutdown. Each department has discretion, however, to change the policy to accommodate the needs of its employees and clients.
“We treat our team members as professionals and we allow them to make those decisions within the structure that we provide them,” Lovern said.
To bring work back to the office, von Briesen introduced several engagement opportunities to build community amongst its employees.
While the company has not moved or added additional infrastructure to host employee gatherings, von Briesen has added several events ranging from wellbeing activities to chili cook-offs, Brewers’ opening day luncheons and NCAA March Madness theme days.
“Whether it’s special programming or special events, we're more conscientious about putting on programming and events to bring people together,” Lovern said.
Fears over a lack of personal connection and collaboration plague many workspaces in the new era of remote work. In addition to von Briesen’s new engagement activities, Lovern believes that the office remains a primary space to build community, form friendships, meet people with common interests and have human interaction. A small minority of von Briesen employees prefer a fully remote work setting, less than Lovern can count on one hand, she said. The greater majority enjoy having an office and prefer to work from it.
Within the law industry, several technological adjustments to the workflow made von Briesen more efficient in its day-to-day tasks. Lawyers and associates learned to use new technology and remote meeting software like Zoom to better manage mediations and avoid extra travel time. Still, certain transactions and mediations are better done in person, Lovern said.
“You don’t get the same human connection,” she said.
In addition to increased efficiency with its clients, von Briesen’s transition to remote meetings helped the company’s seven branches between Milwaukee and Chicago communicate more effectively. The firm continues to use the new technologies although the majority of its staff are working from the office.
As per the future of von Briesen’s remote work arrangements, Lovern says the company will need less office space as a result of learned efficiency during the pandemic and a new era of paperless business. The company will continue to have a major real estate footprint despite changes in the industry, however.
Milwaukee-based financial services company Northwestern Mutual has maintained flexible work arrangements through the pandemic as well. Contrary to von Briesen, Northwestern Mutual is increasing its office space with the construction of a half-billion-dollar North Office Building next to its downtown headquarters, a new building that will house 2,000 employees transferring from its Franklin office.
Northwestern Mutual’s in-office work varies depending on the department and function, according to Julia Fennelly, senior director of strategic communications & corporate reputation.
“We have employees who are in the office five days a week, employees who are fully remote, and employees who are in a few days a week in a hybrid model,” she said. "But, I can tell you is that our campuses are active and vibrant, with employees engaging with each other in person in productive ways."
Fennelly said Northwestern Mutual will continue to invest in its downtown offices but was unable to comment on what its remote work structure will look like once the new building opens in 2027.
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