Another Angry WomanMay 18, 2023

We are now three years into the shift from office working to hybrid/home-based and the only strategy commercial property developers have is paying for advertorials bleating about how everyone should work in offices rather than idk pivoting their model.

Capitalism is not a driver of innovation, or they'd have fucking innovated.

Show threadKate WatsonMay 18, 2023
@stavvers I mean imagine if they invested in making their commercial properties somewhere great, somewhere people really *wanted* to be, at least some of the time, for a change, even if it meant an annoying and expensive commute?
Show threadAilbhe
@antinomy @stavvers Google offices used to do that -- playrooms and napping rooms and food and whathaveyou. It kind of worked.
May 18, 2023 at 12:16pmWeb
Show threadKate WatsonMay 18, 2023
@ailbhe @stavvers It seems amazing that almost no one who wants people to spend more time at the office by choice has tried making the office a nicer, easier, and more enjoyable place to work than home, by enough to offset the ball-ache cost and wasted time of commuting.
Show threadKate WatsonMay 18, 2023
@ailbhe @stavvers It shouldn't actually be difficult to make an environment custom-designed to be good to work in somewhere better than a random corner of our homes!
Show threadKate WatsonMay 18, 2023
@ailbhe @stavvers But no, everyone is supposed to be just delighted with the idea of going back to buildings with nylon tiles on the floor, polystyrene ones on the ceiling, nasty *nasty* lighting and no escape from Stacey who has no inside voice apparently.
Show threadAuntie MameMay 18, 2023
@antinomy @ailbhe @stavvers Give me a private office, with a door, where I can control the lights, volume, and temp, and maybe I’ll show up at the office. But nope, no innovation or changes while the CEOs work from Martha’s Vineyard.
Show threadThe Actual BrianMay 18, 2023

@ailbhe @antinomy @stavvers office buildings are empty.

Real estate isn't trying to find something else to do with it. They're just trying to get people back into the office.

Saying cities are innovating and turning empty office buildings into affordable housing.
You can even put services, restaurants, entertainment, and child care on some of the floors.

They just have to try something different.

Show threadChris BroomeMay 20, 2023
@TheActualBrian @ailbhe @antinomy @stavvers cities aren’t in the worst position to recontextualize old office buildings. Suburban office parks though, those single-use monstrosities that are purposefully far away from housing and retail, they’re in for a rough slog
Show threadThe Actual BrianMay 20, 2023
@cbroome @ailbhe @antinomy @stavvers
I'm not sure what those are like.
Do they have surrounding land? If so, housing can attract business.