“You are going to see people flock to the organizations that do operationalize it, instead of saying, ‘this is an exception.’” “You will see a swell of men and women, parents and non-parents saying, this is going to be the new normal,” Jones said. Many will expect it in some form in the future, Jones said. Nashville employers have become more comfortable with the concept, because they were forced to try it, but employees also have experienced the benefits. “We were trying to tell people, ‘if you just try it, try it with a single department,’” Jones said “Some of our biggest successes have come from that, when we have been able to encourage people to take a really low-risk, pilot option.” Now that Covid has forced companies to adapt to remote operations, those executives see the downsides are not as significant as they thought, she said. While some businesses have been open to flexible hours and working from home, many have resisted changes, saying remote work options would hurt productivity or damage culture.
UDIG SALARIES DRIVER
“Prior to the pandemic, we were already seeing flexibility as a key driver of a strong, productive work culture and anticipate that this will continue going forward,” spokeswoman Mackenzie Goldman said in an emailed statement.įor seven years, Courtney Jones, founder of Knoxville-based recruitment firm Momsource Network, has been helping companies in Nashville and across the Southeast to consider more flexible arrangements that could help attract and retain employees, especially working mothers. The Brentwood-based company also will support those who wish to be entirely on-site or entirely at home. Tractor Supply will offer hybrid models for its store support center in Brentwood, with employees allowed to work some from home and some from the office, officials said. “We are adopting a more efficient model that will result in less office space needed.” “We have continued to look for ways to better support our employees and ensure we’re shaping a culture that promotes flexibility, work-life harmony, and is sustainable for the future,” Bridgestone spokeswoman Emily Weaver said in an emailed statement. Change Healthcare is closing its headquarters office in Donelson with as many as 700 workers working remotely, according to the Nashville Business Journal. Downtown, the vacancy rate nearly doubled to 10.4%.īridgestone Americas has ended its lease at its Antioch office, where 400 people worked, to consolidate operations at its headquarters downtown. Office vacancy rates in Nashville climbed to more than 10 percent in the third quarter of 2020, up from 7.3 percent in 2019, according to a report from Colliers International. “I don’t think things are ever going to go back to normal.” It is definitely here to stay,” Stephen Kulinski, managing director for CBRE’s Nashville office, said. “Working from home and having flexible work hours and work place is a new way of life. The changes being considered and implemented have broad implications for recruiting, daily operations and the region’s commercial real estate.
“Our team has adapted really well to work from home.”īusinesses across Middle Tennessee, from large corporations to small startups, are rethinking their day-to-day workplace policies and office design and are making long-term adjustments that, for many, will last beyond the pandemic. “We are not going back,” said Decode Health founder Julia Polk. December was the last month they paid rent there. The company, which provides predictive disease insights to national laboratories, moved its more sophisticated equipment to its employees’ homes, and increasingly relied on Slack to discuss operations.
Decode Health had been subleasing office space in Cummins Station in Nashville when Covid-19 forced the team home in March.