A New Twist to Lure Workers Back to the Office: #RethinkTheNews

Midway through 2023, one story has become a defining real estate theme: Will workers return to their offices in large city centers? Large organizations have been grappling with this issue since COVID restrictions began lifting in the spring of 2022. Still, the idea of regaining some sense of the pre-COVID status quo has been anything but easy or predictable for large employers.

Given the length of the pandemic, a shift in work patterns took root, as many of us made the big adjustment to working at home. In fact, just after the pandemic struck, many companies did not wait to see how things would pan out, but instead made public declarations that remote working would become permanent. These included companies like Facebook, Twitter, Square, and Shopify to name but a few. But here we are, more than three years after the onset of that event, as large organizations grapple with the implications of permanent remote working models including those who initially declared remote work permanent. In fact, in recent months, we see more and more companies mandating a return to the office.

One of the first companies mandating a strict return-to-office policy was Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk stated in a November 2022 email to employees that they were expected to return to 40 hours in-office each week or seek other employment.

Though such a hardline stance has its benefits, it obviously has its risks as well, not the least of which is employees seeking alternative employment. Since then, other companies have been grappling with this issue, as their central offices contain large swaths of unoccupied space. Increasingly, upper management has recognized the importance of building corporate culture, and to them, this means a return to the office.

But the question remains: How do companies bring their workers back? Well, in a story that unfolded over the past month, Salesforce offered an innovative way to do just that. Between June 12-24, Salesforce donated $10 to a local charity for each day a worker came into the physical office.

At first glance, such an approach may come off as gimmicky, but a deeper consideration of this tactical strategy does have merit. It speaks to the growing social consciousness of workers (even younger generational cohorts) and provides a financial incentive (i.e. make a difference) for them to return to the office. Countless surveys reveal this predisposition to be very real.

But in its statements, Salesforce addresses common concerns associated with remote work including productivity, office culture, and employee onboarding.

The endgame for many employers today is to get their workers back in the office to boost work culture by increasing cohesion, as well as returning their offices back to some version of status quo. How long this will take, if it takes at all, is anyone’s guess, but this again reveals one of the areas where such uncertainty is creating chaos: the assessed value of buildings with lower occupancy rates and increasing vacancy rates.

As discussed previously, the period of uncertainty we currently find ourselves in has led to diametrically opposed views on assessed property values. Until the dust settles, and we regain some sense of equilibrium, these disagreements will certainly lead to appeals. The question then becomes, how prepared are you to handle the complexities of appeals given the number of variables that need to be considered?

itamlink is exactly the type of solution that addresses this complexity—all in one platform. This significantly eases the pain points typically associated with the process. If you’re having difficulty visualizing exactly what the software does, put speculation aside and act. Contact us to book a demo and find out how you can prepare you to take your property tax management to the next level, particularly at a time when the issue of assessed value is in a state of flux. Now, there is purpose-built software that can save you significantly.