Remote work is also restructuring apartment designs

According to consulting firm McKinsey & Co, 35% of employees in the United States (U.S.) are full-time remote workers, while 28% are in a hybrid work arrangement. 

But remote work can be a drag in tiny apartments or ones designed without it in mind. During the pandemic, employees living in small apartments often struggled. 

Fortunately, property developers have taken note of this shift and are now designing new apartments with remote workers in mind. 

Remote-work ready apartments

“We’re designing for at-home workspace in a way that we have never done pre-COVID,” said Jessica Hester, CEO of the architecture firm called Verdant Studios.  

“Making sure people have access to comfortable, well-lit desk space has become a priority.” 

Hester added that they are also considering how units would look in video calls. 

And several high-end developments, at least in Texas, are taking the lead as they offer co-working units and remote-work lounges. 

Reducing office space

Robby Kwok, chief of staff of the collaboration platform Slack, said that it is “really hard to justify having all of that space.” 

That may be the reason why many large employers are abandoning office space which makes little sense now. 

For example, conglomerate Thomson Reuters is giving up a sprawling campus that sits 5,000 employees to create a “modern, energized, and collaborative work environment” that fully supports hybrid work. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also agreed, adding that real estate will be a major part of the software giant’s attempt to reduce costs by as much as $5 billion.

With several companies and property developers already making plans to accommodate remote work in the future, one thing is becoming clear: A full-time office arrangement will soon be eradicated.

And, with this, we can only hope that remote employees can have the space they need to keep doing their jobs effectively and grow into the roles that they want to achieve.

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