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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 20 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 F O C U S work is done but also lead to sig- nificant savings in areas such as rent, facilities operations and maintenance, which account for 10% to 20% of personnel-driven expenditures. eir advice to employers: "Use this moment to break from the iner- tia of the past by dispensing with suboptimal old habits and systems … Ultimately, the aim of this reinven- tion will be what good companies have always wanted: a safe environ- ment where people can enjoy their work, collaborate with their colleagues and achieve the objectives of their organizations." Technology companies including Facebook and Twitter are leading the work-from-home trend on the national front. And in early July Tokyo-based Fujitsu Ltd. joined their ranks, announc- ing a plan to encourage 80,000 office workers in Japan to primarily work from home for a "more empowering, produc- tive and creative experience" and plans to halve its office space in the country over the next three years. In the United States, 60% of employed people were working at home dur- ing the crisis, up from 25% a couple of years ago, according to a Gallup poll conducted in April. In a separate survey by McKinsey, eight out of 10 respon- dents said they enjoy working from home, with 41% saying they are more productive than before and 28% finding they are as productive. 'Flipped on its head' Several large Maine-based employ- ers with a presence in other states are holding off on a return to the office for the time being. Besides Baker Newman Noyes, they include engineering firm Woodard & Curran, which employs 1,100 people nationwide; and Tilson, a network deployment and IT profes- sional services firm with 543 employees, including 183 in Maine. As much as Tilson CEO Joshua Broder misses being with the team in the office, he says he doesn't antici- pate a return this year, and only if two criteria are met. "For us to reoccupy our offices it has to be safe enough that we don't need to implement engineered con- trols and PPE in the office — we don't have an appetite to take any safety risk in the office, and schools have to be operating largely in person so child care is not a problem for our employees," he says. He says he doesn't anticipate the first set of criteria being met this year. Similarly at global payments provider WEX Inc., most employ- ees are expected to continue to work from home until 2021 though the firm remains committed to a planned $50 million operations center in Scarborough. A spokesman says that while it's premature to talk about changes in the company's office design or real estate footprint, its plans for Scarborough have not changed. Peter Michaud, a partner in the Downs developer Crossroads Holdings LLC and managing partner for Maine Properties LLC, Southern Maine Remodeling and M&R Holdings, also says that WEX remains 100% committed to the project, which he expects to break ground in late fall. Speaking more generally about the office market, Michaud says that while some marginal deals are getting pulled, out-of-state interest in com- ing to Portland as a safe haven from COVID-19 has increased dramatically in the last several weeks. "If someone wants a fancy office and nice views of Portland harbor that was great," he says. "Now it's going to be, 'that view's nice, but is the whole facility safe?' It's really been flipped on its head." Real estate brokers also expect the market to be in flux for some time. "Just like people are attracted to Portland because of the retail, they are attracted to Portland as an office destination because of its restaurants and shopping," says Peter Harrington, a partner and associate broker with Malone Commercial Brokers. "I do think this is an opportunity for people who have been thinking of trying » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E • Multi-functional Color & B&W Copiers • Printers & Scanners • Postage & Mailing Equipment • Software & Network Solutions • Managed Print Services 800.924.4229 www.bdtme.com Since 1989 Local Decisions Be Budget! Problems Solved. Budget Document Technology is an industry leader in providing digital solutions for document creation, production, and distribution. Helping Maine get business done! View as many spaces as you can, and make sure that you have enough space so that if COVID continues into next year, you can maintain social distance at a safe level. — Peter Harrington Malone Commercial Brokers

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