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Why Your Neighbors In Your Office Building are Important

What are the different types of office spaces? - Avanta Business Centre

 

The reality is your office neighbors have almost the same impact as the next-store neighbors of your house or apartment. If you are miserable in your office because your office neighbors are too loud, it’s going to be much harder to want to be in your office and get work done. If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful, and professional setting with neighbors who are the same, vice versa. You have to find office neighbors that share the same values as you.

 

Here Are Two Recommendations to Consider When Evaluating an Office Building:

1.Evaluate the Existing Tenants

Take a look at the directory to evaluate what kind of industries of the neighboring Tenants. Are any of the Tenants in the building competing in your industry? Would any of the Tenants be good neighbors to have to refer business back and forth? Check out the parking lot to determine based on the building occupancy, if there is plenty of parking available for the available office space. Some could be over-parking and negatively impact your companies’ experience.

 

2. Are Tenants Considerate in Common Areas

Cleaning after yourself when using the Tenant’s common areas including lounge, conference room and bathroom is a common courtesy and is important to consider when you share common spaces with others. Although majority of office buildings have janitorial services 3-5 times a week, janitorial services typically come in the evening. 

 

A few others include: 

  • Utilizing the smoking areas.
  • Proper hygiene.
  • Having professional behavior is a key component in Tenant common areas. Improper discussions, practical jokes and so on will soon make the workplace unpleasant. 

 

Both of these impact the type of experience your team has in the office building and thus playing a role in their experience at the workplace while your company calls that building home for the next 5+ years.





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Impacts of Long-Term Virtual Work

When people switch to working from home, which momentarily can boost the quantity of work they accomplish each day, work-from-home (WFH) employment cannot provide the real benefits of face-to-face interaction, such as learning and new long-term connections. The benefits of in-person work on productivity are better long-term as opposed to the short-term gains from working more at home for potentially unsustainable periods. In-person work stimulates invention. The one-time benefit from the time saved on commutes will be swiftly outpaced by an even slightly greater growth rate once workers return to their offices.

 

Members of the Team have Less Human Interaction.

Not everyone wants to be “besties” with their colleagues and treat their work for work only; however, according to Business Insider interaction helps in providing a productive and enjoyable environment. It’s also a social setting in which employees get to know one another, have casual chats, bounce ideas off one another, connect as a team, and come to appreciate the business culture. Even when you are no longer obligated to attend the monthly standup meeting physically, you might not know how much you’ll miss those free workplace coffees. 

Low Employee Morale

Building relationships with coworkers is more difficult while working from home. There are fewer chances for chance meetings or social gatherings like lunches, and happy hours. 

Inability to Focus

While some professionals find the home environment conducive to concentration and productivity, others are overwhelmed with distractions: children wanting attention, spouses, and roommates interfering, and street sounds boring into the awareness.

Overworking Dangers 

The possibility of working more hours than necessary exists when you telecommute. Burnout and increased work-related stress are unquestionably consequences of this. This may be prevented by carefully outlining your calendar and allotting certain work and personal responsibilities periods. For some people, having a designated workspace where you can leave when the workday is done is essential.



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Benefits of Bringing Dogs To the Office!

 

 

Four Benefits of Having Dogs At The Office:

 

During Covid, there was a heightened increase of pet adoption at the Hillsborough County Humane Society. The trend of companies bringing employees back to the office can be a point of concern for new dog owners, who have been home with their furry, loved one. Not just new dog owners, worrying how long you are gone with your furry friend, is a concern for most pet owners. How can you remove that concern from an employee from leaving their dog at home for a long period of time? Can a company experience a paw-sitive impact in the workplace from having dogs?

 

Here are four benefits of having dogs in the workplace:

  • Reduces Stress: 

Allowing dogs in the office has been shown to help employees feel less stressed while also enhancing productivity. When an employee is allowed to bring their dog to work, oxytocin levels rise. Oxytocin is a hormone that relieves stress and decreases cortisol levels in the body and is proven to make you happier. Not only does having a dog lessen stress, but it may also help people laugh and smile more in the workplace. Both of these things help to relieve stress and anxiety. The goofy activities of a dog may instantly lighten the mood at the office.

 

  •  Increases Productivity:

The presence of a dog in the workplace may boost productivity and creativity. Employees may feel more at ease and get along better with one another. Pet owners are more productive and even creative at work when they have their dogs with them. Employees may take brief breaks to walk their dog outside, giving them time away from work. Short periods of time apart have been found by researchers to boost attention to complete tasks. Also, employees are not worried about being away from their dog while working more hours, hence increasing their productivity.

 

  • Bring Your Team Back to the Office:

Bringing dogs to work can boost employee morale. Employees are happier if they do not have to leave their pets alone, unattended at home, or pay for doggy daycare while they are at work. Especially, if employees are newer dog owners (within the last two years) their dogs are more attached (and vice versa) from working from home.  As a result, the office rapidly becomes a more relaxed environment, with happier and more pleased staff.  Employee happiness, motivation, and productivity all improve as a result. Office morale improves, and employees become happier and less anxious about getting home to their dog.

 

  • ​​Health Benefits:

It has been proven that dogs have been linked to a number of general health advantages, including lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels. Pet owners frequently have more of a drive to exercise and do other outdoor activities since pets demand time outside, which can contribute to better health.

 

Do you have a pet policy? Maybe now is the time to consider it as you evaluate how to develop company culture, hire the right folks, increase productivity and overall company morale.

 

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Downfalls of Subleasing Office Space

Subleasing office space can offer a more superior building at a lower monthly rent, providing the Tenant the ability to be in the building they desire without the hefty price tag, flexibility of a shorter term and even use of existing furniture. 

There are rights a Tenant, who decides to sublease their space, gives up when subleasing their space. These “rights” are usually located in the “Sublease” clause in the lease between the Landlord and Tenant. 

Two main examples of building signage and an option to renew the lease. 

  1. Right of building signage is more common for a Tenant who is leasing at least a full floor of a building. 
  2. Renewal options are more common in every lease. A renewal could say, “Tenant has a one time option to renew their lease at the current market rate.” If the Tenant decides to sublease their space, majority of the time, the option of the renewal is not passed through to the Sublease. 

What does this mean for a Subtenant?

Any terms that were agreed upon for a renewal, the Subtenant does not have a right to and is subject to whatever the current market rate and how the Landlord is marketing the building. 

There are two potential issue could arise when not having a renewal option:

  1. A Tenant in the building could have First Right of Offer to the said sublease space at the end of the term, this Tenant has first position and priority over the Subtenant, to lease the space.
  2. The current market rate could be higher than the Subtenant’s budget. If the Subtenant would like to move into a relationship as Tenant to the Landlord but cannot afford a direct deal the Subtenant will have to relocate. 

 Having a Tenant Representative can bring clarity when evaluating the best decision for your business to choose a sublease or a lease a space directly

 

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Is The Tampa Bay Office Market Overflooded with Sublease Office Space?

 

Is The Tampa Bay Office Market Overflooded with Sublease Office Space?

When we were evaluating the future of office space in 2020 there were several discussions of what the future of office space in Tampa would hold. I even wrote a blog explaining what I believed the two contributing factors would be: 2020 Presidential election and a second lockdown. 

Tampa Bay did not experience the second lockdown but we know other cities around the United States did and impacted their use of office space. 

Evaluating the national commercial real estate market is great when analyzing trends and an overall sense of where we are headed. We have to keep in mind, real estate markets are also very independent of the area: the people, culture, politics, and the diversification of companies somewhere like Tampa, can be different than Los Angeles. All the major headlines highlighting the surplus of office space on the market in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago and most think Tampa Bay is experiencing the same trends. Has Tampa experienced an influx of sublease space on the market? Yes. Has it been to the level of other major cities? No. 

Why is Tampa not experiencing the same impact as other cities?

  1. The average size of an office space Tenant in Tampa is under 10,000 RSF in a 100,000 sf + building, the majority of buildings are diversified with a smaller Tenant mix. We are experiencing larger vacancies but the under 3,000 SF sublease vacancies are moving quickly in the market. The large sections of office space of sublease coming to the market are mostly Publicly Traded companies whose decision-makers are out of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago deciding to maintain consistently from policies made at their HQ level to across the country. 
  2.  The average size company in Tampa has fewer people and privately-held businesses are the lifeblood of our business community. Smaller businesses typically have more flexibility in implementing new policies and procedures.
  3. Tampa is a pro-business environment. Tampa did not experience a second lockdown. I believe if we had a second lockdown there would have been a dramatic impact in our business community, just like NYC did. Tampa is benefiting from companies relocating to Tampa and the expansion of companies already located here. Sublease office space that might have been on the market is being subleased by companies moving to Tampa who want a smaller footprint as they grow and leveraging favorable terms. There are pros and cons to subleasing office space. A great pro can be more favorable terms of a below-market rent and shorter lease term but there can also be cons.
  4. The people component is the most important in terms of office space. Tampa has been known for diversity in backgrounds and melting pot natives with folks from all over the country. Culture in Tampa’s location is one factor but the culture of each company is different. The people who make up the culture in each company play a more important role.

As 2021 comes to an end and sights are set on 2022, the influx of sublease space has cooled down and folks will have at least 1-2 quarters under their belt of implementing back to work policies. Although office sublease inventory decreased in the third quarter, most U.S. markets are still dealing with record rates of sublease space. Additionally, unlike other major metro areas, there are no whispers of a second lockdown in our future. The data is showing to be optimistic for the Tampa office space market as we head into 2022.