The pandemic altered the entire concept of “going into the office,” as people attended Zoom meetings in kitchens and fielded emails in living rooms. Companies around the world were forced to reconsider their approach to employee relocation. Now, as companies are rethinking their pre-pandemic employee relocation practices, moving and storage company PODS is taking a look at the current relocation landscape and offering analysis of the industry’s top trends.
Companies are shifting to remote work or hybrid work models.
According to a report from Gallup, 69% of workers were already working from home either part-time or full-time by May 2020. By September 2021, the same poll revealed 45% of workers were still remote. Some companies including Dropbox, Facebook, and Tripadvisor have adopted remote work as a permanent policy, while other companies, such as Apple and Google have implemented hybrid office models in which employees split their working hours between the office and working from home.
While traditional office environments come with the benefit of face-to-face interactions and collaborations, remote work offers employees comfort and convenience. A report from Small Business Trends revealed employees are 45% more productive when working from home. Despite variances in approach, remote work appears to have become a lasting and prominent feature among the workforce.
Corporate relocations and expansions to up-and-coming business cities.
As employees shifted the way they think about where they work, employers too started asking some of the same questions. Many companies took the opportunity to move out of expensive and heavily taxed cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City and took their operations to smaller, up-and-coming business cities. Across the Sunbelt, cities including Atlanta, Austin and Dallas offer better tax incentives with lower costs of living and operating costs.
Remodeling or downsizing office spaces.
One in five Americans relocated or knew someone who relocated for work in 2020, according to Pew Research Center. Employees looking to relocate are seeking the opportunity to advance their career, a higher quality of living, change of scenery and a lower cost of living.
Trends in corporate relocation are changing faster than ever before, and employees have benefited with greater independence. Top-talent employees are realizing their value and businesses must work hard to attract and retain them. Offering highly competitive salaries, extra perks, benefits, and location options are among the negotiation tools.
Read the full PODS report at https://www.pods.com/business/blog/corporate-relocation-trends/.
Agents, what trends are you seeing in the corporate relocation environment? Comment below.
