Stephen Ross thinks recession will drive workers back to the officeBy Thomas Barrabi
June 17, 2022
Billionaire real estate tycoon Stephen Ross suggested Friday that a looming US economic recession could put an end to the work-from-home craze that swept the country during the pandemic.
Ross, whose firm Related Cos. owns office space in New York and across the US, suggested the possibility of layoffs could lead employees to drop their resistance.
“Employers have been somewhat hesitant because they didn’t want to lose their employees, but I think as you go into a recession and people fear that they might not have a job, that will bring people back to the office,” Ross told Bloomberg.
Major banks and other companies have had mixed results in luring workers back to their desks following a pandemic-era shift toward remote work and hybrid office schedules. Employers have emphasized efforts to keep their workers happy in an extremely tight labor market — with the national unemployment rate currently hovering at just 3.6%.
But the labor market is expected to cool in the months ahead as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to tame decades-high inflation. The Fed’s plan has sparked widespread market volatility and prompted some companies to begin belt-tightening measures aimed at preserving their balance sheets during a period of tighter monetary policy.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/06/17/billionaire-stephen-ross-thinks-recession-will-drive-workers-back-to-the-office/
