Authors: Renee Riviere and Jennifer Herr

As the world starts returning to normal, the office experience and, in turn, the real estate portfolio will look different; the reality is the office has been evolving for years as corporations experimented with remote work at varying levels. Enter a global pandemic, a disruptor and catalyst that overnight made working remote an immediate reality and, while it proved remote work to be possible, simultaneously revealed challenges.

Underutilized commercial and industrial real estate reposition for new markets by CoreNet Global's What's Next Podcast

Digital building lifecycle: using digital twins for smarter investment in building upgrades by CoreNet Global's What's Next Podcast

Written by Tom LaMartina, vice president of Facility Services for RWS Facility Services.

With many commercial properties operating at close to capacity again, and businesses in the process of returning to a new normal, there have been countless reminders in 2021 that any property is susceptible to emergencies or disasters that will slow or stop business or, worse, cause injuries or death to building occupants. Additionally, catastrophes like flooding, hurricanes, and other disasters have also become more prevalent in the recent past. For example, in early July, New York City’s subways flooded at waist-high water levels from tropical storm Elsa. In February, due to unusually icy conditions in Texas, the state experienced an electrical grid overload that caused blackouts throughout the state and shut down businesses. The grid overload also created untold expense and damage to homes.

Managing employee experience in the hybrid era by CoreNet Global's What's Next Podcast

Written by Erwin Chong

Narrated by Nicki Williams

CoreNet Global’s the LEADER magazine, October 2021

The reality of our time is that many organisations have had to respond quickly to the pandemic and inevitably are in the position of future-proofing for the next normal, and even the next world-changing event.

Written by Jennifer Veitch and Mike O’Neill

Narrated by Gayle Crew

CoreNet Global’s the LEADER magazine, October 2021

The world of work will change but the office will still play an important role

The world of work in the post-COVID world will be different than pre-pandemic, although it remains unclear how workplaces will change, or even where work will take place. Regardless of where one works, there is a newfound awareness of the need for resilience in response to stress and mental and physical health challenges to workers and their families. Work is a significant stressor for most adults. Gen Z and Millennials suffer higher than average stress than older adults1, and Gen Z are most likely to report mental health problems.

Written by Pippa Boothman

Narrated by Gayle Crew

CoreNet Global’s the LEADER magazine, October 2021

Most commercial real estate companies still use manual methods to collect and confirm the data they rely on to manage building temperature, layout, and maintenance schedules.

Until recently, the promise of smart office technology was only achievable for large real estate companies with budgets of many millions of dollars. The Internet of Things (whereby a network of physical devices, appliances and software connect and exchange data to support automation) has been prohibitively complex and expensive for most building owners and facility managers. Installing sensors to collect data was costly and time-consuming.

Written by Stephen Wright and Dan Elkins

Narrated by Nicki Williams

CoreNet Global’s the LEADER magazine, October 2021

Building a dream office might seem like an unlikely opportunity post-pandemic. After all, offices around the world have been shuttered or underused for more than a year and industry analysts project that office construction spending will remain low throughout 2021. All of this has some speculating that the office, as we know it, is dead.

Written by Alex Morales

Narrated by Colleen “the queen” Lex

CoreNet Global’s the LEADER magazine, November 2021

Like in so many places across the U.S., summer of 2021 was announced by the symphonic celebration of cicadas that, for 17 long years, were patiently colluding within the earth’s caverns before announcing their virtuosity in our parks and green spaces. The cicadas that have made so much noise – literally with their raucous reaching up to 100 decibels, and figuratively as they managed to capture a sensational buzz across various news media – are part of the largest generation of periodic cicadas known as Brood X. The next time we will see these winged torpedoes will be in 2038. By then, the world will look very different.