Real estate PR challenge: Promoting the post pandemic office - by Harry Zlokower

New York opened in June. That was the good news. Not so promising was the commercial real estate picture. By the end of September only 62% of office workers could be expected to return, mostly three days a week, Partnership for New York City predicted in a The New York Times story.

Adding to the dilemma was the rising media debate as to whether or not the office presence was as important as in the past. This situation may change but commercial real estate agrees something must be done to restore confidence. The economy and future of the industry depend on it.

Communication is key to restoring office value . Among corporate CEOs, even the staunchest of return-to-office advocates agree that changes must be made and communicated to bring employees back to the office. The biggest factor is safety. But also in play are the value of office culture versus working remotely and economic benefits for both employers and employees.

Major corporations like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase are calling workers back by “dangling carrots and wielding sticks,” as Bisnow reported. Real estate leaders like Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield and William Rudin of Rudin Management Company expressed cautious optimism in the media.

But, while such efforts are a good beginning, real estate, must take the lead in publicizing the safety and value of office work. Kenneth Leon, digital infrastructure specialist for tenant rep Vestian, made a strong case for wellness screenings, occupancy monitoring and contact tracing a while back in this publication. “Together Again—Rethinking the Workplace,” an e-mail blast from Sebastian Capital, made salient points.

General and trade media are open to data, cases and commentary on what the new offices of this decade should look like and why they are important for business productivity.

Harry Zlokower is a real estate public relations consultant based in New York, N.Y.