ALLENTOWN, Pa. - More and more businesses are calling workers back to the office.
"We really want that consistent client experience across the board, so we all need to get on the same page," said Kathryn Brown, co-founder and principal of Morton Brown Family Wealth, a wealth management firm. "We all need to continually collaborate."
She says they made the transition back to Tower 6 in downtown Allentown fairly early.
"If you're just texting or emailing, only about 7% of what you're trying to communicate fully comes through, when you have a phone conversation that bumps up to around 30%, but then when you have the face to face and the in person, you bring it out another 50%."
Co-founder Dennis Morton says it became necessary for the growing company.
"We've doubled in size from a staffing perspective since before the pandemic started," Morton said. "A lot of coming back together was really allowing our culture to continue to form. Our employees were saying we want to get back together in the best way that we can."
According to LinkedIn, posted remote positions have decreased to around 13%.
Director of leasing for City Center Jarrett Laubach says most of their tenants are requiring in-office days but are looking for a more relaxed environment.
Think more couches and less cubicles and more communal space.
"We're finding that clients have asked us to make minor modifications to their space to keep it cutting edge," Laubach said. "To provide those flexible spaces to work."
Both Morton and Brown say offering the flexibility is key. Workers are still welcome to take a day at home when needed.
"In the pandemic we all became a lot more open and transparent about just the needs of our lives," Morton said. "That struggle, that aggressive balance that we have between life and work."
