COMP NEWS – A staggering 50% of employers think that “good coffee” will help them draw reluctant workers back into the office, according to a new survey.
Companies view decent coffee as a top amenity in encouraging workers back to the office. The U.S. market still needs a bigger fix.
Can good coffee save the office?
Flexible work arrangements still matter, but so does a good cup of joe, according to a CoreNet Global recent survey of corporate real-estate professionals on the status of office work.
The U.S. office sector has been reeling from higher interest rates, plunging property prices and record-high vacancies in the wake of the pandemic, even as workers elsewhere in the world are largely back in-person.
To help turn things around, more U.S. companies have rolled out office mandates. Still, a recent survey of corporate real-estate professionals found more agreement on providing “good coffee” than how many days a week employees must report to work onsite.
Only about 11% of respondents are bringing their workers into the office a full five days a week, while more than two-thirds rely on hybrid and flexible work models.
The survey, which gathered responses in March and April from CoreNet’s global base of members who oversee real-estate assets of large corporations, found that 36% still relied on “other/flexible” work arrangements four years since pandemic lockdowns, the largest single category, while another 34% were mandating three days a week in the office, the second-most popular category.
Only 11% of respondents required five days in the office, while 7% were mandating four days a week.
That contrasts with 51% saying they were offering “good coffee” as an amenity to encourage onsite work, with the same share pointing to “a variety of workstation options” as a popular perk.
The embrace of relatively low-cost amenities comes as 56% of survey respondents reported having up to 10% of their owned or leased portfolio vacant, while 13% said greater than 30% was empty.
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