Office Worker Survey Unveils Disturbing Deterioration in Office Building Conditions - but Highlights Market Opportunity
When it comes to how workers feel about their offices, they've become pretty vocal nowadays. My company, Blumberg Office Properties (the real estate investment arm of Blumberg Capital Partners), late last year commissioned a unique study of office workers to get at the heart of how office building conditions affect worker attitudes, productivity and motivation. After all, we're in the commercial real estate business, and any savvy real estate investor and building manager needs to understand the real factors driving employee and tenant satisfaction. In the final analysis, the buildings with the best workplace environments, tenant services and employee-friendly amenities will be the most valuable and sought-after office addresses.
Our independent survey of 500 workers nationally was conducted in December, and we just released the findings yesterday (1/29/08). Here's a link to the full study results(PDF) and press release on our novel survey. The findings generated a bit of an industry stir, resulting in stories on the survey by the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Entrepeneur.com, and CNN. (Also see news story at Blumberg Capital Partners) Some of the results were rather surprising:
- One in three workers have accepted or left a job due to the condition of the building or the amenities offered.
- Nearly half said their office buildings and office environments are either “bland”, “dumpy”, or “stodgy.”
- The most-frequent office complaint: extreme office temperatures due to poor heating,
air-conditioning and ventilation systems. Other complaints included messy restrooms, leaky ceilings, rodents and insects, and, even, crime. (It's rather eye opening to consider that so many "Class A" office buildings could have such issues and environments. But it also means market opportunity for forward-thinking tenants and building managers and
investors.)
- About a quarter of the respondents said the cleanliness of their buildings is either “marginal” or “appalling.”
- One in three workers are concerned about getting sick or injured from unhealthy or unsafe building conditions.
- Fully 80% of workers said the overall condition of their office buildings affects how they
perceive their employers.
- The vast majority confirmed that the condition of their office buildings affects their own
individual productivity and motivation.
Yet, the disturbing trends and insights gleaned from the study highlight commercial real estate market opportunity. Given the increasing value placed on office amenities, we just hired a former luxury hotel executive, Ludovic Roche, to spearhead the accelerating rollout of five-star, premium services to our properties. Our unique, cutting-edge Blumberg Office Properties program encompasses on-site concierge support, event tickets, health clubs, conference facilities, advanced technology and energy-efficient utilities. We're also investing in “club-level” suites for tenant members, akin to “club-level” suites commonly found in five-star hotels. At one of our properties in Tampa, Fla., we already have an on-site swimming pool available to our tenants.
We fully anticipate to lead the commercial real estate market in
differentiating and branding truly special office addresses, positioning
Blumberg Office Properties and Blumberg Capital Partners as brands synonymous
with first class, high-value properties. In the meantime, I hope you find
the survey results useful and informative.
