How Multifamily Must Adapt to Residents Working from Home

As more and more residents are working from home, apartment design and community culture is being reshaped. Operators are being tasked with providing appropriate spaces for residents who must work remotely while enhancing the property’s living experience under these new conditions. Working from home has increased in recent years, but the pandemic put it into high gear due to social distancing and workplace shutdowns. Even as restrictions are being relaxed with COVID-19 vaccines kicking in, remote working has received a boost that’s unlikely to diminish. Companies and organizations across the world believe remote working is here to stay, and IT infrastructures are being transformed in the process. Office space will still be needed, but many workers were already shifting to home offices before the pandemic.   Buffer, a brand and social media marketing company, polled 3,500 teleworkers at the end of 2019 and 98% said they want to work remotely for the remainder of their careers. Speaking at RealWorld 2020, futurist Geoff Colvin said apartments can provide value by accommodating residents who either must or prefer to work from home. Their comfort with all things digital makes Millennials and Gen Z’s, who constitute a core apartment demographic, more likely to embrace working remotely for the long term. Retaining residents who telework The confluence of working and living in the same space is changing the way rental housing operators, developers and architects are thinking about the resident experience. The vacation rental industry quickly pivoted a few months into the pandemic when teleworkers began seeking local – even exotic – getaways where they could work and play. “Flexcations” or “bleasure” trips incentivized by a good Internet connection and a change of scenery are the latest targets for an industry that has embraced this new traveler demographic. WiFi, telephone, printers and cable connections are...