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V O L . X X V I I N O. X V I I A U G U S T 9 , 2 0 2 1 6 The Trek Across Maine and the American Lung Association an- nounced that this year's virtual event raised $360,500. Central Maine Power said that over the past 12 months it invested $450,000 to help 14 Maine nonprof- its invest in projects and upgrades to infrastructure and facilities. Delta Dental Plan of Maine donated $903,392 to 41 programs, impacting the lives of 7,886 Mainers, according to its 2020 Community Impact Report. Partners Bank in Sanford opened a branch at 53 Church St., Town Square Plaza in Kingston, N.H. Clearstead Advisors LLC, an institu- tional and private client financial advi- sory firm in Cleveland, announced the formation of Clearstead Trust LLC, a Maine-chartered, non-depository trust company in Portland that will oper- ate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Clearstead Advisors. Preble Street, a statewide social service agency based in Portland, launched a $14 million campaign to support six goals: a Healing Center to support survivors of human trafficking, a fund B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state A S K AC E Answered by By Lisa Whited, founder of Workplace Transformation Facilitation in Portland a n d s e n i o r a s s o c i a t e a t A d va n c e d W o r k p l a c e A s s o c i a t e s i n t h e U K The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Q: Some 47% of employees who have been working from home would rather quit than come back full- time. Why are employees pushing back against returning to the office? ACE Advises: Money is no longer the only compensation employees expect from employers. They proved during COVID that they can be productive working remotely. Now they want flexibility. Employees have experienced greater productivity while working from home. Before March 2020, primary complaints about the office were noise, constant interruptions and lack of quiet places to focus. Working from home gave people the quiet, productive spaces they craved — without having to commute. Of course, not all home working situations are equal — these benefits could not be experienced fully by those who were home schooling kids or living with roommates. About 40% of jobs can be accomplished remotely at least some of the time, in more personalized spaces, free from interruption and noise. According to Leesman, an organization that measures workspace performance glob- ally, employees rank their pro- ductivity while working at home at 83%; they ranked their productivity working in an office at 64%. Most employees indicate they want to spend some time in the shared office — socializing, collaborating, and connecting with colleagues. Some 94% of employees say they would like to work from home one to four days a week. Remote work can provide significant overhead savings for businesses. A global insurance company recently deter- mined that it could save 82% of its real estate expense by embracing hybrid work and downsizing its real estate portfolio. As commercial buildings contribute 39% of carbon emissions to the environment, using less space can also be good for the planet. Lisa Whited is founder and chief transformation officer of Portland-based Workplace Transformation Facilitation. Lisa will be part of the "The Modern Workplace" panel at the Mainebiz Small Business Forum on Aug. 25. Her first book, "Work Better. Save the Planet," will be published this summer. For more on this topic, see "The Role of the Office After COVID" at consultexpertise.com/blog/10776045 @ Most employees say they want to spend some time in the shared office connecting with colleagues. But they also say they are more productive working from home. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N

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