Many companies are already thinking about the post-Covid-19 era

Text by: Loubna Anaki Follow

In the United States, as gradual deconfinement continues, many companies are thinking of new ways of operating after the Covid-19. A week ago, Google announced that it would let the vast majority of employees work from home until the end of the year. In New York, where containment is still in effect, many companies are considering the same thing, and given the excessive rents, some groups may even reduce their office space permanently.

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From our correspondent in New York, 

Pending a possible deconfinement in mid-June, New York companies have been working for weeks on new security protocols. “  Machines like photocopiers, toilets, and maintaining distances, if you need to install plexiglass between certain offices. We have to think of everything,  ”explains Diane Ramirez.

The head of the company is at the head of a real estate company which has thirty offices in the New York region and more than a thousand employees.
For the past ten weeks, everyone has been working remotely and meetings have been held by videoconference. A measure that could be adopted in the long term.

“  It's interactive and almost more productive. Many things that we have been forced to apply will become the norm in the way we work,  ”she says.

Many companies plan to maintain telework

Many companies are thus considering maintaining telework. Among them, the big banks like JP Morgan, Barclays or even Morgan Stanley which alone employ tens of thousands of people in Manhattan. By adopting teleworking definitively, some people plan to reduce office space. Especially since the rents are very expensive in New York. "  I'm looking at all of my surfaces and I'm wondering  : Do I really need all these desks?  "Admits Diane Ramirez.

If for some this new organization of work could lower rents, others believe that the city will always attract new companies looking for New York locals.

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