SIOR Asks: Is This the Great Office Wait or the Great Return?

Is the “Great Wait” for things to return to business as usual finally over, or is COVID-19 still rearing its ugly head? Well, that seems to depend on who you are and what your business is. For some SIORs and their service-oriented clients—attorneys, accounts, etc.—things are most definitely at least back to a “new normal.”

Though such pandemic remnants as hand sanitizers and masks can still be found in workplaces around the world, and virtual meetings are likely here to stay, people have returned to their offices (if they ever truly left). On the other hand, larger corporations are moving much more slowly, with many taking a “hybrid” approach when it comes to having their employees in the office. And with the emergence of the omicron variant, some that planned a January re-opening are taking a “wait and see” approach—at least for the short term.

“It’s a changed framework,” says Frank Martin, SIOR, senior associate broker with Hall Associates, Inc.