Remote workers slowly returning to region’s offices
As the level of Covid-19 vaccinations increase and the reports of positive cases and hospitalizations decline, it would seem the pandemic is entering its final stretch. While many people are eager to resume the pre-pandemic normalcy of indoor dining, attending entertainment events, traveling and in-store shopping, there appears to be less enthusiasm in returning to the office environment.
A survey of Westchester CEOs by the Siena College Research Institute that was released by The Business Council of Westchester (BCW) found 82% of respondents increased the ability for their employees to work from home during the pandemic and 63% percent of those plan to keep this set-up in place indefinitely.
In addition, 44% of respondents have either downsized on their office space or plan to within the next six months.
Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the BCW, observed that the remote work protocols put in place during the pandemic created results that many people did not expect.
“Employers and employees have learned throughout this time that they can be very, very productive,” she said. “And sometimes even more so working from home without the commute ”” it gives them more hours in the day to be focused on their on their work without distractions.”
But despite the survey”™s data, Gordon stated she has been aware of local businesses who are weaning their employees away from remote work and asking them to come into the office, adding that companies will either require a full return to the office or a hybrid office-remote work situation by the fall.
As for her office, Gordon said, “Our director of office operations set up a very strict protocol for all of us. When we are in the office, we sign in, we take our temperature, we wear masks in the office and we have the six-feet-apart rule all of the time.
“Now,” she added, “the entire small but mighty team is back at the office ”” at least part of the time because we still allow for a hybrid work. Sometimes it”™s more convenient to do the Zoom meeting from my home office and then work in the office in the afternoon.”
Across the region, there were companies where remote work was in place before the pandemic arrived in this country.
“We”™ve always had some employees that were fully remote before Covid,” said Lindley Maglio, chief people officer at ICR Strategic Communications & Advisory in Norwalk. “So, it was a slightly easier shift for us.”
ICR closed its office during the March pandemic shutdown. Maglio noted that the company opened its offices in the summer “purely on a voluntary basis. If someone needed to get out of their house or their apartment, they could come to a safe place. But we found utilization was pretty low.”
With more people returning to work, ICR ensured health safety with special crews coming through twice a day to sanitize the workspace. The company also requires mask wearing while walking around the office, although employees who are at their desk or a comfortable 6 feet from their colleagues can work maskless. Maglio reported the staff is highly satisfied with these protocols as well as being out of their homes.
“They feel safe and they really appreciate the change in scenery,” she said.
Phil Kuchma, president of the Bridgeport-based Kuchma Corp., noted that his office was not closed during the pandemic because its commercial and real estate property maintenance services were deemed essential. One member of his five-person staff tested positive during the pandemic and was away for a 10-day isolation. The company is now fully vaccinated.
Kuchma intends to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on Covid safety measures as long as they are in place.
“We would not ask anything of our tenants or visitors to our buildings that we don”™t comply ourselves,” he said.
Kuchma”™s office has a small vestibule between its street-level outside door and the inner office door that was unlocked in the pre-pandemic days, but the inner office door remained locked after the pandemic began in order to mitigate against an accidental virus spreading. Kuchma also allowed for socially distanced meetings at the office due to his growing irritation with virtual gatherings.
“I”™ve grown very tired of Zoom meetings,” he said. “I actually don”™t Zoom, but I call into meetings where people are Zooming. The good news is that a lot of people have grown to really dislike it ”” and Zoom fatigue is a real issue.”
Another executive who did not close his office during the pandemic was Al Alper, CEO of a pair of Wilton-headquartered information security firms, Absolute Logic and CyberGuard360. Alper”™s workforce is in the office and the daily routine has “almost been business as usual for over the last 12 months.”
But unlike other companies, Alper does not mandate mask wearing, even though most employees have yet to be fully vaccinated.
“We left it as a personal choice,” he said. “It”™s not that we deny Covid, but if anybody was afraid to be here, then either they would work from home or I would have people wear a mask. But it hasn”™t been an issue.”
At Brookfield”™s Mack Media Group in Brookfield, masks are required in the office, but the apprehension that many people experienced early in the pandemic is long gone.
“Everyone seems not to be on edge as they were before,” CEO Scott Johnson said. “The feeling of the office is different ”” things seem to have loosened up a little bit.”
Although his office was closed at the start of the pandemic, Johnson”™s team was back in the office at the first government-approved moment.
“We do digital services and we need to be in the same room because everyone wears the same hat.”
Another creative agency, Peralta Design in Shelton, requires its employees to wear masks when they interact, the company also had Plexiglas shielding installed between workstations.
“It wasn”™t expensive ”” it”™s actually quite affordable,” CEO Ramon Peralta said. “It makes our team members feel more comfortable.”
Peralta observed that while some companies might be shrinking their office space at this time, he is taking a different approach.
“We”™re bucking the trend and looking to expand our office,” he said. “Everyone”™s talking about working from home, but we are creatives and, in our industry, I feel that we need to be in the same place to collaborate. Also, we”™ve hired two people during the pandemic, a part timer and a full timer, and we”™re going to need more space in the foreseeable future.”