The Flexibility Perk

We closed up our office space in mid-July. As we packed up our boxes and desks and relocated them into our home office I was sad because I really loved our office, but for now it just didn’t make sense. Many business owners right now are having this same conversation. The tell-tale sign of a legitimate and successful company has largely been that cool office, right? There’s the large glass conference rooms, kitchen with the expensive coffee machine, fancy plants, and designer chairs. 

The location and overhead cost of the lease has forever been a necessary expense. But now what? Our fancy chairs aren’t being sat in. The cost of lights, internet, cleaning services, and of course the lease doesn't make sense any more. At least not right now. 

So, here we are at that decision point. A large perk of being an employee many times can be the office and the culture within, but it’s also a large cost to the business.. And unfortunately when revenue slides those large costs can become a dangerous weight on a struggling company. Remote and virtual working may seem new, but it’s been around for some time. It’s only in the last 6 months that almost all of us have become remote and virtual workers. 

Many large companies have already decided to work virtually through the end of the year and some indefinitely. That’s a huge deal. Those companies have made the decision to release themselves from a massive amount of overhead cost, upkeep, and localized talent. Now they have freed up the ability to connect to talent anywhere, and to reallocate that “office” money to other things. That could mean a company could invest in buying real estate vs. leasing it. Imagine an employee perk being 1 week a year free at the company beach property. That sounds a little better to me then sitting in a fancy desk chair. I have an adequate chair at home, and the coffee isn't bad.

As we adjust to our office environment looking much different than it has in the past I think there is a real opportunity to adjust our thinking about what employee “perks”could be. Could it be that large salaries, big glass offices, coffee bars, and expense accounts aren’t what people want? I think this massive change highlights that flexibility as an employee, and as a business is the most essential part of healthy work and a healthy company. 

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