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V O L . X X V I N O. X V I I J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 16 R E A L E S T A T E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G "I f you touch it, wipe it," is the new office mantra at the MEMIC Group, a Portland- based workers' compensation insur- ance provider that's starting to bring employees back to the office after four months of remote work. Led by President and CEO Michael Bourque, the 500-employee firm occu- pies two buildings in Portland that it owns and leases regional offices in seven East Coast cities. Still in Phase 2 of its return plan, MEMIC's Portland anchor remains well shy of the 40% staff level it deter- mined can safely be inside at this time. Looking a lot different than before the pandemic, MEMIC's headquarters now have hand-sanitizer dispensers on every floor, new name badge and face-cover- ing requirements and no more coffee machines for common use. Meeting rooms are also closed and everything is done on video. "It's not ideal but it works very well," says Catherine Lamson, MEMIC's senior vice president and chief administrative officer and part of the committee that put together the reentry plan and protocols. Lamson, still working from home except when a task requires her to be in the office or to pick up mail, says that MEMIC has had remote workers for 25 years and had been looking to expand that long before the pandemic. She also says the company is starting to think about its long-term real estate needs. "I don't know if we're going to reduce the footprint, but we are cer- tainly not going to increase the foot- print," says Lamson. Noting that it's too soon for detailed predictions, she adds: "We are prepared for however long this takes." MEMIC isn't the only Maine employer grappling with COVID's impact on the workplace, and its future office requirements. Another is Baker Newman Noyes ,a 284-employee accounting firm with leased space in Portland and four other cities that remains empty as people work from home. "We have learned a great deal about how to work effectively in a remote environment, and we expect our demands for square footage will decrease," says the firm's managing principal, Dayton Benway. "How much space we eventually need remains to be seen as the factors that will guide our decision-making are still a moving target." As Maine companies large and small think about reconstituting exist- ing premises, finding new ones or planning to stay virtual forever after COVID-19, the implications for office real estate in Portland and beyond are huge. e health crisis is also fueling innovation in unexpected places, like the Holiday Inn by the Bay pitching its rooms as quiet places to work away from home. "Typically, we'd be very busy this time of year," says the hotel's general manager, Annaliese Lafayette. During COVID, "we've been very slow and are trying to get creative to drive revenue." She also says she thinks the hotel will offer the promotion after this year, and that it plans to rent its parking-garage rooftop event space long-term. Accelerated evolution It's not just the real estate landscape that is changing in Portland and beyond, but also the perception of the workplace. "What this virus has done is rip open many of the things that were wrong C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 8 » F O C U S Global trends and forecasts A survey of close to 3,000 office-based workers worldwide conducted between March 30 and April 30 found that: S O U R C E : "Global Work from Home Experience Survey," by Anita Kamouri, Iometrics Inc., and Kate Lister, Global Workplace Analytics. The report also made the following predictions: A typical employer can save $11,000 a year for every employee who works remotely half the time We are prepared for however long this takes. — Catherine Lamson MEMIC 88% are working from home on a regular basis during the pandemic vs. 31% before 88% 31% 68% say they are very successful working from home and 72% say they have everything they need to be successful working at home 68% 72% Only 16% are prepared to say goodbye to the office forever 16% By 2021, 25% to 30% of the workforce will be working from home multiple days a week 25–30% Work-from home initiatives will save U.S. employers more than $30 billion daily in what would otherwise have been loss of productivity during COVID- related office closures. B y R e n e e C o R d e s Whatever WORKS Reinventing the office for a post-COVID world

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