RE: Remote Work Is Part Of Technological Evolution: Disruption Is Happening
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I've always been a bit on the fence about the generation I belong to. Born in 1980, I'm right at the youngest end of Gen X or at the very oldest end of the millennials. Oftentimes, I don't really feel accepted or a part of either generation. While I have a strong grasp of technology credited to my love of programming and early forays into PASCAL and C++, I also fondly remember graduating high school before cell phones were widespread, high-speed internet was not yet a fixture in homes (dial-up was the norm), and social media was basically just AOL and instant messenger.
I've heard the term Xennial thrown around a bit, so for the few others in the years btwn 1978-1982, I think that is a rather apt description.
As for the office space issues, I see the commercial real estate bubble all around me here in New York City. My father is a commercial real estate attorney. He has been incredibly busy as many of the 5-year terms from before the pandemic are nearing completion and nobody is renewing.
Residential redevelopment is barely a viable plan since in most cases it might just be more economical to tear down and build from scratch rather than try and retrofit condos into office buildings. Things are going to get ugly over the next few years in the commercial real estate sector. Hopefully the mid-market banks holding all this paper are preparing for the crash early, because the writing is on the wall! We already saw what happened to signature bank, and I think many others will have a similar plight.
What you state is true for all generations. Those who are baby boomers but were both in the early 60s identify more with Gen X than Boomers.
Few seem to realize this.
Maybe outside the cities, they don't, but I can tell you the issue is front-of-mind here in NYC. There will be a reckoning, and soon! Not just for all the landlords sitting on empty office space, but also for the countless businesses and livelihoods that are based on people commuting into offices daily. There are so many shops that just be able to continue to survive in a world with 40% office occupancy. It seems like the only people "winning" are the food delivery apps as less and less people leave their apartments to brave the harsh conditions of barren city streets that used to me teeming with life!