Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Florida sees new COVID cases drop by 47% in the past two weeks

Florida saw a decrease of about 47% in new COVID cases in the past two weeks, the largest drop in the United States, according to a Fortune analysis of New York Times data.

It was some welcome relief for the state, which has been a COVID hotspot, with a daily average of 12,192 cases as of Sept. 15—the second highest number after Texas.

When it comes to the share of the population with COVID, Florida is now in the middle of the pack, with an average of 51.3 daily cases per 100,000 people. States such as West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky are fairing far worse—averaging at or near 100 daily cases per 100,000, according to a Fortune analysis of New York Times data.

2. Why Top-Performing Companies Are More Likely to Increase Their Real Estate Footprint Post-COVID

In early summer of 2021, when we surveyed a variety of companies in the U.S., 70% of business leaders were expecting a return to the office after Labor Day weekend. We now know that was wishful thinking. The delta variant has since delayed many companies’ plans. And yet, the sentiment about the office hasn’t changed.

Even though delta changed the timeline, workers around the world still place a great deal of value in the physical workplace — and our newest data from the U.S. shows that people at the top performing companies in particular value the physical workplace and look forward to resuming in-person work.

To understand how expectations and needs around the future of work and the workplace continue to evolve, we surveyed 2,000+ U.S. leaders and knowledge workers across 10 industries in May/June 2021 to capture current sentiment around the workplace as offices begin to reopen. The survey findings offer valuable insights into what companies were planning at that time, and the continued importance of the office as a place for a range of activities.

3. Amazon Adding 125,000 Workers in U.S., Opening Dozens of Facilities

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.81% said it plans to add 125,000 employees in the U.S. and has lifted its average starting wage as it continues to rapidly expand its vast warehouse operations in a tight labor market.

The tech giant on Tuesday said it has opened more than 250 facilities this year and plans to open another 100 across the country in September, deepening its pool of locations used to store, sort and ship its packages.

It said it has lifted pay for workers in such facilities to an average of $18.32 an hour as it seeks to fill those locations and replace workers who leave existing jobs. That follows a move in April to increase wages between 50 cents and $3 an hour for more than 500,000 employees.

4. U.S. Economy Shows Resilience During Delta Surge

The U.S. economy is proving resilient in the face of the Delta variant.

Americans briskly increased spending at retailers last month, while employers have largely resisted the urge to lay off workers, the government reported Thursday, both signs of strong demand in the economy.

Sales at the nation’s retailers rose 0.7% in August, rebounding from a drop in July, the Commerce Department said. With many schools, college campuses and offices reopening, consumers shelled out more for groceries and merchandise at big-box stores. Those purchases—along with higher spending on furniture and hardware—offset another big decline in car sales, which have suffered from a global computer chip-shortage that has crimped supply.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims—a proxy for layoffs across the U.S.—rose 20,000 last week to 332,000 but remained near a pandemic low, the Labor Department said. Layoffs caused by Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana in late August, likely contributed to the increase, economists said.

5. Companies signing Atlanta's biggest office leases

There's a lot of uncertainty about the future of the office market.

Many companies have pulled back on initial plans to return to work. Others are downsizing from bigger offices to smaller spaces and adopting a hybrid work model.

Even so, some companies are still signing big leases.

Here are several notable office leasing deals this year, stretching from Atlanta's central business district neighborhoods to suburban cities.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great and hugely impactful week!