EVEN RETURN TO OFFICE RATES ARE BIGGER IN TEXAS – WHY COMPANIES EVERYWHERE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION

Your company or organization has a purpose, right?

Do you know it?

Do most people in your company know what it is?

Better yet, do your actions, and your team’s actions each day fulfill that purpose?

YES?

If you’ve answered yes to most of these questions, chances are you’ve got a team in alignment. That’s awesome! And as it turns out, teams that work in this way may be more likely to return to offices post-pandemic. But that’s just the foundation.

TOO MUCH PUSH, NOT ENOUGH PULL?

Contrast that to the return to office moment we’re having right now in major cities. Mandates are starting. Major tech companies are requiring most employees to report to physical offices three days a week after two years of remote work. In too many cases, the return to office initiative feels more push and less pull.

EVEN RETURN TO OFFICE RATES ARE BIGGER IN TEXAS

And then there’s cities like Austin, Texas, making headlines for luring more employees back to physical offices than other major cities. You can read all about it here in this Wall Street Journal Article. Here’s the data they are tracking to make this claim:

Austin offices are 59%-occupied—and cracked the 60% threshold last month—according to data from Kastle Systems, an office-security firm that records workers’ comings and goings by measuring badge swipes into skyscrapers and corporate campuses. 

WHY?

From Infinity Group’s national perspective, we can confirm interest and business activity for our commercial design and build services are highest in Austin, Texas right now. Companies looking to attract top talent are investing in physical spaces with both purpose and a deliberate wow factor.

This recent article on Austin’s high return to office numbers also points to what was happening in the city and region before the pandemic. There had been a hiring spree, attracting young professionals who work in sales and marketing roles. Many of these workers are more inclined to returning to offices and events to make connections and advance their careers by building in person relationships.

THE TASKUS TAKE

In nearby San Antonio, Infinity Group designed and built the TaskUs space right before the pandemic started. This was during a time that TaskUs leaders were also building their flexible and remote work plans. They were ahead of the trend, and they had invested in technology and tools to do it correctly. See their full project photo gallery here.

Rajnish Sinha, Chief People Officer at TaskUs shares some insights on the future of work in this medium article.

He says a hybrid workforce, flexibility, cross-functional roles, a move from efficiency to effectiveness, and crowdsourcing and task-based work is on the rise.

“Work is not the only thing on our minds anymore. Flexibility with work schedules will become increasingly important, especially while working remotely. People are valuing family time now more than ever,” said Sinha to medium.com.

He added, “I am constantly amazed with how people want to do their best and produce great work. I have two teenagers, and they have strong views on who they want to work for, and what they want to do in the future. I’m most optimistic about our younger generation, who have a sense of purpose.”

DOUBLE DOWN ON PURPOSE

While there are many factors within and outside of our control when it comes to the return to offices. One thing leaders can start with, right now where they are, is purpose. Double down on purpose. Here are some great leadership team conversation prompts to consider. Why are we gathering in person? What purpose does it serve? What does our company do better than anyone else? How are we communicating that brand difference and purpose to remote and hybrid teams today? Are new hires learning about our purpose when they start? Do they understand it at fundamental level?

OUR INFINITY GROUP PURPOSE

We fight for the employee who loves walking into his job – feeling inspired to do the best work possible. His CEO is happier too because her vision became a reality. From the dream to design, construction to the ribbon cutting, we tackle projects with the right mix of design creativity and project management experience. Ingenuity, integration, and trust – that’s how we Make Work Beautiful.

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