The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of Americans to work from home, with no end in sight. Start dates for when employees can return to the office are being pushed back later and later for many uncertain companies.
Many companies have already announced their plans to keep employees at home for the long term. Google informed their workers that they can work from home until July 2021 and Twitter told its employees that many of them can work from home in perpetuity, even after the pandemic. It’s likely many companies will follow in the footsteps of these tech giants.
The Stigma Has Lifted
Experts are saying that the previous stigma around working from home has largely been lifted. They expected many companies to transition into more remote work for employees in the future.
It’s likely that employees will have the option to go into the office a few times a week, but
complete the majority of their work from home. Across the nation, the amount of people working from home is estimated to double or triple in numbers.
Repercussions (Builders and Developers)
As hundreds of thousands of workers in the U.S plan for the indefinite shift to remote work, the fear of major repercussions on the economy are increasing.
With companies beginning to consider allowing their employees to work from home for the
majority of their work week, commercial real estate will take a large hit, especially in New York City and parts of California like the Silicon Valley where these large companies are located. As larger percentages of their workforce stay home, businesses may decide to cut the costs of renting or buying commercial office space. For builders and developers, this means millions of dollars in losses.
Repercussions (Small Businesses)
The other large group of people that will be negatively impacted by this shift would be the small businesses surrounding the office spaces of these companies. If Facebook decides to let the majority of its employees work from home, that means they won’t be supporting the shops or public transportation that feed off of Facebook employees, like vendors that feed people on their lunch breaks, the cafes that serve morning coffee, or the buses that take commuters home.