Author: UnCommons Website

 

At Matter, we’ve always created spaces with an eye towards the recipients who will use them. Things are different now as we all consider our office spaces and how – sometimes even if – we will use them going forward. In order to better understand how office professionals are feeling, we conducted a survey. Some of the findings were expected and we have already started redesigning projects to fit what we anticipate will be the priorities of employees in the future. We’d heard, and experienced in some cases, struggles with isolation (46% of respondents) and its corresponding declining mental health (58% self-reported), a longing to collaborate with colleagues (60%), and missing the socialization that comes with an office setting (52%). This study survey supports the assumptions we had made.

First, some information about the recipients who responded to the survey. The vast majority of respondents live in California (21%) and Nevada (69%); while we would have loved to be able to have representations of the whole country, we are limited by our networks. 57% of our respondents are male and 41% female, 85% of whom typically work from a physical office space. 85% of respondents were working full time before COVID-19 and 87% are working full time now; the uptick seemingly comes from interns who gained full time employments, potentially corresponding with college graduations. Our age differences are well spread with 38% Gen X, 30% Baby Boomers, 17% Millennials and 12% Gen Z. Since information regarding the virus, safety precautions and the economy changes daily, it is important to note that this survey was answered between the months of June and July. We will be interested to compare these results to those this fall.

Possibly the most important takeaway is an employees’ feeling of stability in their position. 76% feel very secure or secure with their employment status with 3% being very unsecure; possibly reflecting the industry of those included in our outreach. When it comes to returning to physical offices, 57% of respondents feel extremely or somewhat comfortable returning to work with 9% feeling they shouldn’t feel forced to return. This could be attributed to the communication of employers with 78 respondents having already received safety protocol from their employers.

Recipients are looking for certain office attributes when they return to the office, most of which can easily be done without much effort or hard cost. Recipients are overwhelmingly looking for two implementations: nightly deep cleaning (59%) and hand sanitizer stations (57%). These factors were even more important than the availability of a vaccine (51%). Respondents didn’t find much value in closing communal spaces (16%), staggering lunch times (14%), or bringing in box lunches instead of buffet-style (17%). More than any other attribute, 35% of recipients are NOT comfortable with employees being required to install contract tracing apps that would notify workers when a colleague is diagnosed with COVID-19 while 16% would be in favor of the tracing.

77% of respondents would rather take the stairs than wait for a socially distanced elevator. This could have many implications for new buildings. Designers may start to build staircases as actual public spaces with attention to design, aesthetics and lighting rather than an industrial setting most only see during a fire drill. Stairway entrances may become more visible and closer to the elevator or main entrance rather than at the end of hallways or behind an elevator bank. If taking the stairs is a trend that continues, will lower floors start to be more desirable for office suites?

Our respondents view on masks reflects the wide spectrum of view in the country. 40% of respondents consider a mask to make them feel MORE comfortable in going back to work. When asked directly if employees should be required to wear a mask in the office 55% said yes, 45% no. Seemingly, there are split reactions to the requirements of masks in the workplace.

Working from home has its perceived benefits and downfalls. Respondents are finding it difficult to collaborate with coworkers (53%) at home, they’re experiencing more distractions at home (46%) and are suffering from social isolation (46%). Not surprisingly, recipients are most looking forward to returning to work so they can collaborate better (60%), socialize with their peers (52%), return to the community aspect of an in-person office (49%), and have a separation of home and work (48%). All things considered, respondents show their desire for flexibility when they are in working in an office, with the most respondents (79%) wanting to work from the office at least three days per week.

70% of respondents plan to change their work travel post COVID-19 with 54% choosing to only travel with essential and 16% not traveling at all.

Respondents were cautiously optimistic when it came to how COVID-19 has or will change their lives. 50% are somewhat worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their lifestyle with only 9% extremely worried and 5% not worried at all. Respondents are most fearful of a member of their family contracting COVID-19 and there is uncertainty creating anxiety/nervousness for 61% of respondent. Between 40% and 58% feel that social distancing has had a negative effect on themselves, friends or family—with the highest negative effect being self-reported. 82% of respondents believe that they are likely or very likely to completely return to old lifestyles after a vaccine is available. The activities that they are looking forward to are visiting restaurants (76%), spending time with friends (56%) and going to sporting events (50%).

At Matter, we believe it’s important to respect each individual – only amplified with the introduction of a global pandemic. We all have the opportunity and responsibility do what we can to encourage a safe, welcoming and collaborative work place and hopefully this interpretation of the data will help to make informed decisions and move forward purposefully and informed.

 

As real estate developers, we are no strangers adapting to change. Whether it’s incorporating an evolving trend, adjusting material needs and costs or integrating new technology, our industry is constantly evolving. Most of these changes have been gradual, but in the wake of the first pandemic of our era, there is an urgent need for developers to change our practices – seemingly overnight.

In the early 2000s, our industry embraced the standards set by LEED™ for environmental responsibility and we developed projects with the aim to achieve certification. Since then, much of what LEED encompassed is now integrated into the modern building standards of today. Today we are learning about a new standard of responsibility, one that encompasses health and safety. It’s called the WELL Building Standard™, and we are now viewing each of our projects through a new lens to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any other pandemic that may arise in the future.

So, what is the WELL Building Standard and how is this going to change the real estate industry? The WELL Building Standard was developed by The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™), which, as noted on its website, www.wellcertified.com, is “leading the global movement to transform our buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive.”

The WELL Building Standard is described as “the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness.”

This translates into action in many ways, which we are implementing now into the construction of UnCommons, our first-of-its-kind mixed-use development coming to southwest Las Vegas in early 2022. UnCommons, which is the the only development in Nevada to be built with WELL standards, will introduce the next generation of office, residential and lifestyle space. Built for longevity in an ever-changing world, these standards are comprehensive and include: building materials, common area spacing, indoor air quality, touch-free technology and UV lighting.

Building Materials – What is old is new again. In this case, materials that were first popular more than 5,000 years ago, including brass and bronze, will make a resurgence. Coming from copper and its alloys, these materials are now getting top consideration for high-touch surface areas due to their ability to kill bacteria and other microbes on contact. Look for copper door handles and cabinet pulls, antimicrobial fabrics and antiviral handrails.

China accounts for nearly 30% of all U.S. building product imports, making China the largest single supplier to the U.S. This is shifting, as supply chain challenges force U.S.  developers to look for locally or regionally sourced products.

Spacing – One of the simplest changes in future development is increased spacing within your office. With a request of your architect or furniture vendor, you can increase spacing between desks and plan physical barriers. However, integrating adequate spacing into infrastructure of the project is not so simple. Can you imagine someone sneezing in an elevator today? Stairwells will no longer be dark soulless spines of a building, but potentially a safer route to your office. This may actually compromise demand for the more expensive upper floors in high-rise buildings. Building lobbies will have isolated furniture, feeling more like airport furniture and look for more meetings held outside where the weather permits.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) – During my commercial real estate career, I found there were two main complaints from tenants: parking and HVAC (also known as heating, ventilation and air conditioning). The HVAC complaints were typically zoning issues of too hot or too cold, basic maintenance, or repair and/or replace, but now the stakes are much higher. Today, HVAC systems perform a crucial role in keeping essential businesses like grocery stores and hospitals open and safe. While we know that viruses can be spread through physical contact, coughs, sneezes and even breath, they can also travel through a recirculating HVAC system. In fact, you could have a completely healthy company and unknowingly be sharing air with a careless neighbor from another floor the whole time.

New HVAC systems and High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters offer “fresh air” ventilation, the ability to disable recirculation and increase air change rates to minimize the risk of moisture, which could contain the virus and settle on internal surfaces, as well as help with dust management. Indoor air quality in employment centers will need to become near hospital grade to maintain the well-being of employees and reduce air pollutants that increase the risk of virus spread.

Touch-Free Technology – The trend that rightly started in restrooms, touch-free technology is next on developers’ mission-critical lists as tenants and visitors expect nothing less today. Smart phone apps, voice, facial or optical recognition will all become more prevalent. Calling elevators using a foot button or using technology like Amazon’s Alexa, for example, could remove the need for physically pushing a button or touching a surface altogether. With your phone still in your briefcase, using Bluetooth, your front door could know it’s you and allow access with a wave of your hand over a sensor.

UV Lighting – Borrowing best practices from hospitals, some buildings are utilizing UV lighting to disinfect offices at night or meeting rooms in between uses. Scientists have known for decades that broad-spectrum, germicidal UV light has the capacity to kill microbes. Hospitals and laboratories often use UV light to sterilize tools and other equipment. There are overhead fixtures and even robots being designed that would roam the halls at night disinfecting offices with UV light.

I often wonder how actions and routines will boomerang back when the virus fades and a vaccine is available. Although I think social distancing guidelines may relax, an employee deserves to be and feel safe at work. Safety is never out of style and you should anticipate a transformational drift to a safer, healthier work environment.

Tom van Betten is the vice president of strategic partnerships at Matter Real Estate Group, the developer behind www.uncommons.com.

 

As real estate developers, we’re always thinking about space: how we can make it better, how it can work more efficiently, and how people will feel best interacting within it. We are now thinking about the space between all of us as we have learned to keep a six-foot space between ourselves and others, including our own close friends. With this in mind, we recently hosted a series of webinars with the Vegas Chamber of Commerce to examine how we can best prepare to return to our offices in a safe and thoughtful way.

Through the course of four webinars: “Day One,” “Saving Restaurants and Your Safety: Bringing Business Dinners Back,” “Your Brain on COVID: How Fear will Prevent Your People From their Best Work,” and “No More Hugs: How to Keep and Grow your Team’s Culture with Six Feet of Separation,” we brought in experts to share their insights to guide companies through this transition.

There has been a lot of talk about how businesses are reexamining the office – and even asking the question, do we even need offices? There is one benefit that stands apart from the rest – and that is human connection. We are meant to be around others and what we are finding from our own team is that connecting with colleagues is what people are missing the most.

With that in mind, we brought together some of the nation’s best minds in various fields to share their insight and help provide a road map to what reopening might look like. It struck me that regardless of the experts’ background and area of expertise there are common themes. We need to be innovative. We need to listen. We need to empower those around us so their talents can shine.

If you weren’t able to join us, we are happy to share each of these webinars with you now.

Day One
Before we even invite employees back to work, we need to do work ourselves. To help us understand this, we featured Darrel Fullbright, office practice lead from world-renown architectural firm, Gensler, and Kylie Roth, global strategy leader for Knoll, a constellation of design-driven brands for the workplace and home. They shared actionable insights on first steps in preparing the workplace and covered topics including alternating work schedules and modifying workstations. View the whole discussion, which we recorded because we knew it would be fell of insight, here.

Saving Restaurants and Your Safety: Bringing Business Dinners Back
Deal makers know that the business lunch or dinner are one of the most valuable cards in the deck but restaurants are struggling and need us just like we need them. We called on industry veterans to share their expertise on how restaurants and bars will be able to safely resume service, how to open poised for long-term success, how to ensure businesspeople, friends and families feel safe when dining out, and the importance business leaders play in saving the vulnerable restaurant industry. Moderated by J. Riley Lagesen, founder and chair of Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP’s national restaurant industry practice group, panelists included Scott Gerber, principal and CEO of Gerber Group and Elizabeth Blau, founder and CEO of Blau Associates. View the complete discussion here.

Your Brain on COVID: How Fear will Prevent Your People From their Best Work
People are in the offices but how do we make sure they feel safe and empowered enough to do their best work? The psychological impact of COVID-19 and what Psychology Today refers to as “an epidemic of anxiety” is on the minds of leaders concerned with their team’s health and happiness along with business performance. Understanding how the brain has been affected by this crisis and what business owners can do about it is key to unlocking fear and guiding teams. The discussion with Phil Dixon, MSc., founder and CEO of the Oxford Brain Institute and Tom Rieger, president and CEO of National Business Innovations, LLC. included critical insights from two renowned leaders in corporate psychological health who are not only well published authors but have guided the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook, the US Military and NASA as panelists. View the whole conversation here.

No More Hugs: How to Keep and Grow your Team’s Culture with Six Feet of Separation
People who know me know that this has been one of the hardest things for which to adapt. Handshakes, much less hugs, have been banished in the last few months among both personal and professional contacts. As businesses begin to re-open it is more important than ever that teams feel engaged and in-step with company culture, while maintaining social distancing. Alex Masters-Goessling, senior director of communications and employee enablement at Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) and Mark Tomaszewicz, chief experience officer at Bulldog Drummond – two leaders in employee engagement – provided actionable suggestions to help teams feel safe and valued as they are welcomed back into the physical workplace. This enlightening flow of ideas can be seen here.

We’ve all proven that we can work from home when we need to, even in some of the most stressful time imaginable, but should we? I believe it’s in all our best interest to get back to work in our offices as long as we’re thoughtful about it and listen to people who are experts. We at Matter Real Estate believe that when our neighbors and colleagues’ succeed, we all succeed. We are here to serve as a recourse. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these videos, or other issues you anticipate. Shoot me a note at info@materrealestate.com. We’re all in this together and together we’ll get back to work shoulder to shoulder and face to face, even with 6 feet separation!

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

–Viktor Frankl

 

As we create a roadmap and prepare to return to work, I am reminded of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” which chronicles his life inside a Nazi concentration camp. It is one of the most profound and insightful books I have ever read and continue to reread through different stages of my life. In the book, Frankl outlines three principles in his search for the meaning of life, one of which is how we deal with unavoidable suffering. COVID-19 is today’s unavoidable suffering.

The way an organization’s leadership responds to COVID-19 puts their “true self” on naked display for all to bear witness. In this era of a global pandemic, inspirational posters adorning office hallways no longer veil what may be at the core of your company. This crisis shines a bright light on your true, authentic corporate culture.

Anyone who knows me knows that I place a great emphasis on company culture. That always hasn’t worked in my favor, but despite that, I carry the belief that it is better to be surrounded by “family” than it is to be surrounded by “employees.” This current crisis has reinforced that belief to my core.

 

Hello darkness, meet clarity.

What has your company done for you?

Great cultures show up in moments of challenge and struggle. As we move through our grand “work from home” experiment, many organizations have been exemplary in their support for their teams.  From the obvious tactics of making certain they have the right technology in place, to the not so obvious – like checking in on a regular basis to assess mental health and stress.

The essence of a strong culture and impactful leadership depends on the principle of putting your team’s needs ahead of your own. This crisis has given all of us an opportunity to see where leadership stands across a broad spectrum of businesses.

What has your company done for others?

Empathy is the hallmark of great leaders. Of all of the experiences and emotions that I have woken up to each day during this crisis, nothing has been more surprising and reaffirming than the great humanity on display around the globe, from the alley operas performed in Italy to our own neighborhood dance parties.

But above these highlight reels, many companies have done some amazing things, from re-engineering entire manufacturing processes to support mission critical supplies for frontline healthcare workers to shutting down profitable operations completely, rather than putting their people at risk.

Some admirable businesses decided to pay rent even when it is hard, while others chose not to even when it is easy. Some companies chose to stop paying employees because it is an option; others continue to pay their team because they should.

In the months and years ahead, I predict a ‘great reckoning’ as organizations are forced to answer tough questions from both their employees and the courts of public opinion.

This is as good of time as any to observe the decisions being made and contrast them against your organization’s stated culture and principles. The alignment, or misalignment, of these principles will tell you what the future looks like.

 

Going Forward – Hallmarks of Leading Companies

Company culture, it is more than a poster on the wall.

Perhaps finally, companies will acknowledge the importance of culture as context for performance and employee engagement. Going forward, company operating principles will be well-established and show up in daily activities. We are already seeing this transformational drift in how shareholders view organizations with their response to the COVID pandemic. Never before has public shaming been so quick, nor has it ever generated such immediate response. Thanks, Shake Shack; let’s keep it real!

Your employer will be a bigger part of your life.

The crisis has given companies not only the opportunity, but also the responsibility to care for their teams in ways they never contemplated before. Companies are approaching employee wellbeing more holistically—not only in terms of the physical, but also mental and emotional wellbeing. Employees are recognizing the importance of wellness, meditation, getting outdoors, solitude and community in a profound manner. Companies have recognized this, as well, and will assuredly make it a new priority.

Also, as we have learned to appreciate our time at home, we have come to realize its drawbacks. I would expect companies to work hard at reinforcing employee engagement and seek ways to provide a ‘high fidelity’ experience for their teams at the workplace.

It’s lonely out there.

We were more or less forced down this social distance track, but once the coronavirus has left for good, some ‘big questions’ about our purpose will be left in its wake –  both professionally and in life. We have come to realize that socializing is the primary fuel of happiness, and now it needs to be in the right measurements. Sure, we will have survived the virus and learned the efficiency of a 100% digital lifestyle, but as appealing as it first seemed, something was missing. We need that something – our craving for a physical sense of belonging and a desire for human connection beyond pixels.

This imposed isolation has led to increased depression and loneliness. This was a trending topic pre-COVID and it is now front and center. Keeping people mentally healthy now shares the stage with physical well-being as among the greatest health issues facing Western societies.

Isolation is a primary factor in depression, anxiety and other significant mental health issues—and the need for physical and social distancing has only exacerbated this struggle. Previously, mental health may not have received the necessary attention it deserved. Now, meditation apps like Headspace and Calm are actively promoted by companies to tend to the anxiety that has cascaded into our everyday life.

Your employer and co-workers now get it; life and work can be a struggle. 

 After spending never ending days at home—especially without the support systems of school, childcare and cleaning services—we have all newfound respect for life’s demands and appreciation for all-things family. Expect leaders to more deeply understand the flexibility required to orchestrate your personal life, from cooking together to supporting kids in their schoolwork. I believe leaders will have a refreshed level of appreciation for the ways family and friends are critical to life and happiness.

Your workplace will get better.

As employees head back to the office, employers are being forced to re-think their approach to the workplace. Companies will deploy forensic cleaning techniques, more distancing and increased choices for employees across their work environment. In addition, we learned a lot of great things while working at home—comfortable places to relax between meetings, flexible hours, clean air, personalized space, working out, easy walks and good food…mostly. These new expectations will create new demands on the office. Organizations will have a new appreciation for the importance of the office and the need for supporting engagement. More than anything, leading companies will provide a reason to show up now that we know we can get work done at home.

Bringing it all home.

These have been trying times and yet the real hard work still lies ahead. Organizations now must lead. We must have the courage to do amazing things all the while aligning our stated values with our actual values.

Each day is precious, each life even more so. As the eternal optimist, I enter this next chapter of my business life hopeful that we will take ‘lessoned learned’ and apply them to a life ‘better lived’. As Viktor Frankl wrote, we have the “power to choose our response,” and I would wager that the wakeup calls for company culture will be ringing loud and clear in the years ahead.

 

Jim Stuart is a partner at Matter Real Estate Group, the developer behind www.uncommons.com.