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. Even the CEO of Zoom Says He Has Zoom Fatigue

Some of America’s top executives, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Zoom Video Communications Inc., say they are souring on some aspects of remote work.

After more than a year of working virtually during the pandemic, executives in banking and technology are pushing back on the idea that workers should be able to do their jobs entirely from home in the coming months. Though some said they expect more flexible work arrangements to endure going forward, they say there are clear signs of burnout in an era of nonstop video calls.

Eric Yuan, the CEO of Zoom, told a virtual audience of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit Tuesday that he had personally experienced Zoom fatigue. On one day last year, he said he had 19 Zoom meetings in a row.

“I’m so tired of that,” Mr. Yuan said, adding that he no longer books back-to-back Zoom calls. “I do have meeting fatigue.”

2. Office Tours Spike 28% As CRE Gears Up For Labor Day Return To The Office

In major office markets across the country, potential tenants have been eyeing space more than at any time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic over a year ago.

Office demand in major U.S. markets jumped by 28% from February to March, according to a monthly report by VTS, a software provider for commercial real estate landlords. VTS’ Office Demand Index increased by 160% in the first quarter and now sits at 86, 9% less than where the index was in February 2020, leading the report to conclude that “return to work appears imminent.”

VTS’ index is largely based on the number of office tours conducted by potential tenants in a given market, and its reported increase in demand has not translated into a boost in leasing activity quite yet, according to research from Colliers.

3. Blackstone Expects ‘Vast Majority’ of Employees Back in Office, While WeWork Sees Rebound

Blackstone Group President and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Gray has been going to the New York office of the world’s largest private equity firm since July. He expects to have plenty of company at some point.

“I was by myself at home sitting in front of two screens” during the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Gray said in an interview with David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of rival private equity firm The Carlyle Group, at the annual DLA Piper Global Real Estate Summit on Wednesday. “I found it very frustrating. ... I had a need to connect.”

Blackstone, with $649 billion in assets under management, wants employees back.

“I believe we are much better together,” Gray said. “We hired 700 people since the pandemic. It’s hard to build the relationship and culture and understand how others operate. We have a strong bias when it’s safe to bring people back. … [For] the vast majority of people, we expect [them] to be back in the office. Our bias will be together.”

4. The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready?

We’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from homeWe’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from home. We’re experiencing this at Microsoft, and today we shared how we’re evolving our own hybrid work strategy for our 160,000+ employees around the world.

We’re all learning as we go, but we know two things for sure: flexible work is here to stay, and the talent landscape has fundamentally shifted. Remote work has created new job opportunities for some, offered more family time, and provided options for whether or when to commute. But there are also challenges ahead. Teams have become more siloed this year and digital exhaustion is a real and unsustainable threat.

With over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work will be critical for attracting and retaining diverse talent. To help organizations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and an analysis of trillions of productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. It also includes perspectives from experts who have spent decades studying collaboration, social capital, and space design at work for decades.

5. A hybrid approach to work

In other areas, conditions are less dire and people are beginning to open up their lives and think about returning to the office. In fact, in places where we’ve been able to reopen Google offices in a voluntary capacity, we’ve seen nearly 60% of Googlers choosing to come back to the office.

For more than 20 years, our employees have been coming to the office to solve interesting problems — in a cafe, around a whiteboard, or during a pickup game of beach volleyball or cricket. Our campuses have been at the heart of our Google community and the majority of our employees still want to be on campus some of the time. Yet many of us would also enjoy the flexibility of working from home a couple days of week, spending time in another city for part of the year, or even moving there permanently. Google’s future workplace will have room for all of these possibilities.

Over the last year, a team within REWS has been reimagining a hybrid workplace to help us collaborate effectively across many work environments. They’re testing new multi-purpose offices and private workspaces, and working with teams to develop advanced video technology that creates greater equity between employees in the office and those joining virtually. All of these efforts will help us work with greater flexibility and choice once we’re able to return to our offices globally.

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

Ken Ashley