Has anyone heard of major real estate players (major market or national) making a move to some form of permanent flex work from home? Obviously not complete WFH, but maybe a day or two per week would be nice..
My company is going back to the office full time and the consensus (outside of the partners) is that employees would appreciate some policy on this matter. I was hoping to give some relevant data points for RE companies and how they are implementing it. I can sense some push back, so I want to approach strategically.
Things I am thinking when formulating my pitch:
- set # of days /week (1 or possibly 2).
- set # of days /year beyond #1 above (think between year-end holidays).
- How to standardize the process and ensure people are actually working.
- Policy of when people will need to actually come in even on these set days (live deal, certain in-person meetings, etc.).
There has been a lot tech companies in the media, but many private real estate companies have not been vocal on this topic. Maybe more will start thinking about this as we flood black to the office, but as of now I've only seen articles on WSJ or recruiter PR saying that it's becoming more important.
Would be great to get other thoughts on this topic. Am I (and my colleagues) alone in wanting this? Haven't we proven that it can be done!? I get the whole "comradery" and "collaboration and idea generation" reasons for wanting to go back. Which I agree with and want myself.. But a day or two would be amazing from a work live balance!
You do know you work in real estate right? No senior real estate professional I know has been positively vocal about wfh/hybrid schedules.
lol yea how can these real estate companies make money on expensive CRE if they aren't using it themselves
i work with the big CRE brokerages and they were the first of all my clients to be back in the office
Aren't using it and having a few days flex are two completely different concepts.
Yes, it makes sense brokers were the first to go back. Hard to push selling office buildings when you yourself are not in the office.
I think eventually there will be a major shift for all fields of real estate to have some form of WFH. No, I do not mean all the time or more time working from home vs. in the office. But a day or two a week, or even a day every other week, certainly seems OK and would not a major disruptor to anyone's business.
Per your anonymous response, I can see you work for JLL. You are aware that when you reach a producing level, you need to be spending time out in the field and not in the office, actually producing... right?
You are aware you can "actually produce" in the office, right?
If they don’t have you back in the office how are they gonna micromanage you?
On a serious note it really depends on your boss. Some are chill and once you’ve proven you can work by yourself without supervision you can convince them to permanently work remote except for investor meetings / inspections. This is for a small company btw. Progressive companies with things such as diversity initiatives tend to have wfh policies
My internship is hybrid for anyone who isn't an intern, but I wouldn't consider them a major real estate player. Associates are usually in office for major meetings but other than that they work from home.
Any shop that isn’t super institutional and/or has a lot of portfolio exposure to office
I’m in similar boat but am still waiting to hear the final verdict from the CEO.
See this I do know that Brookfield
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/07/1002141237/working-in-sweatpants-may-be-…
Accidentally posted. But according to that link Brookfield is NOT wfh simply because they own office properties and by them not utilizing them they think it sends the wrong message to other office users… I get the POV but they could still allow 1-2 days a week and their office footprint would be the same. I bet the employees are less than thrilled.
From what I know, only some CRE divisions at banks are allowing WFH - Deutsche, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Wells, etc. I know from first hand experience, major RE firms like Related, Tishman, and SL Green have had their staff 100% in office since last summer. My advice if you don’t want to be fully in office is go work for a multifamily or industrial shop; just any shop that does not have stake in office properties.
Nuveen RE
What has nuveen said?
Flex in office schedule. 2-3 days per week in office
Capital one just released hybrid option. So I guess their CRE banking arm falls into this
Lmao 7/6 ARM?
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/wfhs-impact-on-the-office-sector
One of the two GSE's will have people only come to the office two days (those 2 days are definitely not mondays and fridays and if any employer select those two days, they are truly assholes lol) a week. This is HUGE. I personally like this sweet spot. Show my face on some days in the office and get to know senior leadership but also work at home on some days and have that flexibility. And having everybody in the office for the same 2 days also ensures that juniors can pack all the in person learning sessions/ tips & tricks on those days so that it does not have to be done all virtually. We all have have had those slow fridays where we thought it was pointless to even be there and dip at 2 PM. Now there is no longer a need for that stupid optics.
At a national multi-family developer, they dont care if you are in office or not.
Makes sense
A couple things to think about here, CRE is dependent on people going to hotels, offices, shopping centers etc. so do you think firms that operate in leasing or investing in certain property types would want employee's to WFH? I would think definitely not. I work at a large brokerage (CB, NKF, JLL, CW) pre covid we would've had maybe half our office full on a normal day. Now we only have a handful in office. I am in office everyday because our manager only requires analysts in office, anyone with kids/family gets to WFH. This has just been my experience I am sure other brokerages/firms do it differently. I personally could really enjoy the money for gas, parking and dress clothes to be back in my bank account.
I'm a Developer at a large publicly-traded retail/mixed-use REIT, and we are currently exploring a 1-day a week WFH schedule. We've been able to come back since last August, and my team has been in consistently 3-4 days a week with no hiccups. Ultimately, it's going to depend on role, deal flow, and quite frankly as some eluded to: product exposure. If you're predominantly investing in office, it would be a tough sell to implement a WFH policy at these places. I feel like any role with project management exposure (i.e. development) is easier to do from home than say IS or an acquisitions type role.
Not sure if this is too personal but are you in NYC? If so, may I ping you?
I'm not in NYC but a large East Coast gateway still.
Now that it's been 8 months, what did your company decide on concerning your policy? Back to full WFO or still hybrid?
One of the largest banks in the country. 2 days WFH and its not a trial run, its permanent. honestly kinda shocked that we are getting a hybrid schedule and I am pumped lol. Was fulling expecting 5 days back in the office given how old school the leadership can be but this is fucking amazing.
Thanks for the feedback. Helpful. Is the bank PNC?
larger than PNC. Cant reveal much but it's public info that many parts of the bank will be hybrid going forward without any specifics (specific days, etc) mentioned. And to add to my previous point about how pumped I am, it may sound lame but I am honest, once I learnt that we will be hybrid, this single handedly boosted my morale, mental health and changed my view on working here. This is not hyperbole. I know 2019 was that not that long ago and we all never complained about being in the office 5 days a week but we should have. I really enjoy WFH or atleast part WFH. Even in 2019, there were days like fridays on example where we all wondering why do we still get to be in the office till 3, 4 or 5 PM when there was little work and our clients have left, so nobody responds to emails. Optics were a big reason why we were in the office twiddling our thumbs. But now, there is no need for optics. I will WFH on Fridays which means I essentially have a 3 day weekend lol. Fuck the idea that oh we are in the real estate business, we have to be in the office. I will just the quiet part loud and I have no problem saying it- I am looking out for my self, my quality of life and mental health, everything else is secondary. Best part is I can have all that and still not sacrifice my pay! Don't be a wage slave and think its okay for your employer to put their interests ahead of yours but you cannot look out for yourself.
at a Life Co in a major market (NY/SF). No requirement at all, but have been going in one day a week.
I really think its team dependent and how your boss views WFH… my boss seems to like it so we are never in. Says probably will never be back full time.
Ur already anonymous, and being general in saying “life Co” why can’t you say whether it’s NY or SF…
Guess you are right, I am in SF. Probably makes sense, seems like NY has a little more of a face time culture.
If you are really in real estate and you want to be a proper tier 1 hardo move into the office full time. Get a sleeping bad sleep under your desk and then it’s essentially work from home everyday while you can still flex on your boss
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