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There will be countless business owners now reconsidering paying exorbitant leases for office space when they can get most of the work done by their employees remotely. Many were probably hesitant to try this model but COVID forced everyone's hands and now they can see it can be done.
That cuts out one of the largest expenses in business and immediately and significantly increases the margins and net income.
Most work done at a computer doesn't require the presence of colleagues. So why pay the lease for office space? A daily or weekly meeting around a conference table? Zoom solved that.
That's not to say office space doesn't make sense for some industries and sectors. But many businesses can survive and even thrive without the overhead a little creativity. The marketing company we work with hasn't missed a beat with everyone working from home for 2.5 months. So why go back to paying 10K/month for the office space?
nice. nyc will be suburban now. which is good since apartments are looked down upon.
There will be countless business owners now reconsidering paying exorbitant leases for office space when they can get most of the work done by their employees remotely. Many were probably hesitant to try this model but COVID forced everyone's hands and now they can see it can be done.
That cuts out one of the largest expenses in business and immediately and significantly increases the margins and net income.
Most work done at a computer doesn't require the presence of colleagues. So why pay the lease for office space? A daily or weekly meeting around a conference table? Zoom solved that.
That's not to say office space doesn't make sense for some industries and sectors. But many businesses can survive and even thrive without the overhead a little creativity. The marketing company we work with hasn't missed a beat with everyone working from home for 2.5 months. So why go back to paying 10K/month for the office space?
Great, spot on post.
Covid widened eyes to this wonderful less formal office space opportunity.
Any way you look at it NYC is in a world of hurt for a very long time. Not sure how long it will take to recover to the same level, could be a decade away
Whatever is going to happen to the "Devil Wears Prada" types?
No more fashion, who needs to preen and prance when you can work from home, no need for expensive attire.
The trick is to buy tons of very different pajama styles, casual fridays will become the norm every day of the week. You can wear specially designed bibs for a mock suit when doing Zoom conference calls, etc...
No more working at offices, no more boutiques, or interesting retail.
I think I overheard an astronomer say there is an asteroid headed for NYC. Just kidding.
People have short memories. After 9/11 the word was "nobody wants to work or live in high-rises" because they'd be especially vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Obviously, judging from the number of new high rises here over the past 19 years, people got over that worry pretty quick. Or how about after Sandy? "nobody wil want to live near the water again because of climate change." NOT!
Same thing here. Right now people are afraid of the density of Manhattan because "if there's another pandemic it could spread really quick and be pretty bad" in a dense high-rise city. This line of thinking, I bet, will also prove to be a non-starter in a few years.
Why? Because both were black swans -- very destructive, but also extremely rare. But the thing is, knowing this, we can prepare for the next pandemic, just as we've strengthened security and haven't seen another 9/11 type attack, just as people are rebuilding old homes or building new homes in areas that could be flood prone but doing it better, giving thought to rising sea levels. We have the knowledge now to prepare for new pandemics -- although whether we have the will to do so is an open question.
Offices may shrink in size for some companies, for sure. But a massive downsizing of office space because of a pandemic scare is highly unlikely. As has been said, some folks like coming to work, some are more productive there, some like to keep a sharp division between "home" and "work," and some folks have little kids, which can truly make working from home an ordeal. (It was for me when our kids were youngsters. I couldn't WAIT to get out the house in the morning!)
Last edited by citylove101; 05-19-2020 at 06:01 PM..
In some ways, NYC will find this far worse than 9-11 economically. Essentially, once we insured our airplanes were safe from takeover by jihadists, 9-11 could not be repeated.
Pandemics do not come with a playbook to avoid repeats.
In addition, corps do not care how much Suzy likes coming to the office. Space is a fortune. They need cost savings to offset covid losses. Work from home is the perfect remedy.
In addition, the entire tri-state will likely see corps hollow out here, open regional hqs elsewhere, as spreading the troops reduces risk to the corp. Conferences and meetings are simple to do remotely.
Many of the high-rise office buildings in Manhattan are already pretty much filled only by corporate headquarters, regional business headquarters, and key business services personnel. Other big space is given over to specialized finance, media, publishing, and fashion companies that would find it difficult to work with a mostly remote workforce. Yet the lower-level staff has already been dispersed out of Manhattan in many instances, and that might not leave as many folks to WFH as one might imagine.
And the tech industry is not going anywhere.. In NYC, in fact, it's growing. Think of this: if any industry were able to widely disperse and work remotely it would be the IT industry. But that industry does the opposite and is centered in Silicon Valley and a handful of other hubs across the country; Boston, Austin, and now New York. That's because the advantages of adjacency are too big to give up by having too many folks working at home. The cluster counts because workers can switch jobs, employers can find new talent, clusters help pollinate start ups and new ideas, and everybody in the industry can more easily keep up with industry scuttlebutt. Density helps all that.
In some ways, NYC will find this far worse than 9-11 economically.
Pandemics do not come with a playbook to avoid repeats.
Of course not. Every pandemic will be different. But you CAN prepare for the next one knowing what we know now. We will definitely have more bio-medical knowledge to share and we'll know to keep adequate reserves of necessary PPE and other equipment. We'll have moved the offshore manufacturing of some supplies back to the U.S. We'll know how to institute lock downs (if they're necessary), how widespread they should be and how long they should last, and have a better idea of the financial cost to cities, states, and the federal government -- and who should pay for it. We can prepare. But like I say, the question is will we.
Of course not. Every pandemic will be different. But you CAN prepare for the next one knowing what we know now. We will definitely have more bio-medical knowledge to share and we'll know to keep adequate reserves of necessary PPE and other equipment. We'll have moved the offshore manufacturing of some supplies back to the U.S. We'll know how to institute lock downs (if they're necessary), how widespread they should be and how long they should last, and have a better idea of the financial cost to cities, states, and the federal government -- and who should pay for it. We can prepare. But like I say, the question is will we.
No cure for the natural fear people will have with crowded trains, subways, offices, streets in NY now.
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