The rise of remote work has not only revolutionized the way businesses operate, but it has also had a profound impact on the lives of employees across the United States. Allowing workers to step out of traditional office settings, remote work has opened new horizons for achieving a better work-life balance. It has provided new opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, and productivity, regardless of physical location. However, with this transformation has come a wide spectrum of reactions and adaptations, driven in part by the generation to which workers belong.

Different generations have unique and diverse perspectives on remote work arrangements. The attitudes towards telecommuting and the challenges and benefits it presents vary widely between Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z workers. These differences aren’t merely superficial; they touch on deep-seated values, technological comfort levels, expectations, and the very definition of work itself.

Baby Boomers, who witnessed the advent of personal computing and the internet, have seen work evolve dramatically over the years, from strictly in-office to increasingly flexible arrangements. Millennials, often juggling multiple responsibilities and valuing work-life balance, see remote work as a tool for managing the complex interplay between their professional and personal lives. Meanwhile, Gen Z, the first generation to grow up fully immersed in a digital world, views doing work remotely as a natural extension of their connected lives, whilst also grappling with new challenges related to professional development and social integration.

These diverse perspectives can’t be understood in isolation. They must be seen in the context of rapid technological advancement, the job market, changing cultural norms, economic pressures, and evolving organizational structures. The impact of remote work is multifaceted, affecting everything from daily routines and communication preferences to career development and long-term job satisfaction.

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The United States is home to one of the world’s largest commercial real estate markets, with an estimated revenue worth of approximately $1.2tr. In terms of size, industrial space is the largest sub-market with 21.7bn square feet, followed by retail with 14bn, and offices, which account for 11.8bn.

In Q1 2023, the average price per square foot for US offices was just over $38. Retail averaged out to $18.09 / square foot, and industrial space came in at just under $8 / square foot. However, there are significant variations in average prices based on location and real estate class. Here is a summary of average commercial rates in key USA cities:

•   New York: Average gross rates for metro New York offices are $77 / sq ft / year. Industrial space averages $19 / sq ft / year.
•   Los Angeles: $44 / sq ft / year for offices in the metropolitan area and $11 / sq ft / year for industrial premises.
•   Miami: In the same range as Los Angeles, at $46 / sq ft / year for offices and slightly lower for industrial space ($8 / sq ft / year).
•   Boston: $38/ sq ft / year for metro offices, rising to $80 in Cambridge. Industrial properties average $10 / sq ft / year.
•   Philadelphia: $32 / sq ft / year for city center offices, $27 for suburban space, and $6 / sq ft / year for industrial properties.
•   Atlanta: Slightly under $30 / sq ft / year for offices with a rate of $35 in Downtown Atlanta. Industrial space is charged at an average of $5 / sq ft / year.
•   Chicago: Approximately $33 / sq ft / year for office space, rising to averages above $40 in The Loop. Industrial premises average $6 / sq ft / year.
•   Dallas and other urban centers in Texas: between $25 and $30 / sq ft / year, whereas industrial rates are below $5.

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The impact of the pandemic can still be felt on multiple fronts, almost three years after its emergence in early 2020. One of the most noticeable of these impacts has been the proliferation of remote work and its influence on where people choose to live and work. Not so long ago, most people chose where they lived based on where they worked or where their industry was focused. Fast forward to the end of 2022, and it’s no longer as cut and dry as it once was. 

In recent years, large cities and their suburban rings have lost some of the appeal that previously allowed them to attract employees and homeowners. Today, the rise of remote work and the decentralization of talent that it provides has given way to a surge in demand for both residential and commercial properties in areas that had previously flown under the radar.

Some pundits are saying that these changes are here to stay, so the question is – where are people living and working in a post-pandemic United States?

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Median Salary vs. Average Salary: How Much are Office Workers Really Paid?

Given the renewed relevancy of the office as a working environment, we believe it is a prudent time to examine how much the average American office worker earns, by age. 

Median and average salary figures are both commonly used when exploring fair compensation in the workplace. Average salary data is determined by adding together all salaries earned by a particular group and dividing this figure by the number of people in the group, whilst median salary data is derived by arranging salaries from low to high and selecting the midpoint. A lot of people refer to these terms interchangeably, however, most prefer to compare salaries against the median wage – as it isn’t as impacted by the dramatic ends of the spectrum.

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Office Space

As of Q2 2022, we’re continuing to see signs of Atlanta’s increased post-pandemic recovery when compared to its peers. Office occupancy rates have shot up dramatically since Q2 2021, though leasing overall has still not reached pre-pandemic levels. Major players — including Google, Microsoft, Visa, and Airbnb — have been in the process of opening up thousands of high salary jobs in offices throughout Atlanta, heavily contributing to the increased positive sentiment that has permeated throughout the office sector in 2022.

Rents have settled after the turbulent events of the early 2020s. Vacancy rates in the metro are still sitting around 18%, making it harder for providers to hike rates. Overall vacancy rates have dropped from 18.8% in Q1 2022 to 18.4% in Q2, providing more evidence of recovery. Despite this, vacant square footage by volume has increased in the metro area, with just over 43 million sq/ft vacant in the middle of 2022 representing a rise compared to the same time in 2021, which saw 42 million sq/ft of vacant office space.

Vacancy rates in Midtown are down to 19% in Q2 2022, compared to 22% in Q2 2021. South Atlanta still shows the lowest vacancy rates across the metro area at 11.7%, though this is up from the Q2 2021 figure of 10%. Despite this increase, recovery is still trending positively when compared to other areas in Atlanta — though reaching the healthy metrics of 2019 is still a ways off. Read the rest of this entry »

In September 2021, 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs. This staggering statistic, combined with the fact that one in four workers had already left a job in the last 12 months, illustrates the clear reality that workers are resigning at significantly higher rates than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the turmoil the pandemic has brought to the United States economy, workers seem more willing than ever to pivot careers and quit their jobs.

Origins of the Great Resignation

In the 20 years prior to February 2021, the resignation rate in the United States had never surpassed 2.4% in any given month. However, around a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, this changed. Typically, resignation rates are seen to decrease during periods of high unemployment, as was seen in the immediate wake of the pandemic and the uncertainty it generated. More recently, experts have discussed the so-called ‘Great Resignation’, a phrase that is linked to the recent shift that has seen employees leaving their jobs to explore other options.

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