Corporate culture that works for both employers and employees.
When it comes to designing the future of work, one size fits none. Discovering success isn’t about a hybrid model or offering remote work options. Individuals and organizations are looking for more freedom. The freedom to choose the work model that makes the most sense. The freedom to choose their own values. And the freedom to pursue what matters most. We reached out to successful leaders and thought leaders across all industries to glean their insights and predictions about how to create a future that works.
As a part of our interview series called “How Employers and Employees are Reworking Work Together,” we had the pleasure to interview Barry Saywitz.
Mr. Saywitz has 25 years of experience in the real estate industry and is CEO of The Saywitz Company. The Saywitz company is a commercial real estate brokerage, investment, management and consulting firm headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Additional information on the company can be found at www.saywitz.com
Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Let’s zoom out. What do you predict will be the same about work, the workforce and the workplace 10–15 years from now? What do you predict will be different?
It is difficult to apply general workforce applications to different industry types as the type of workforce, workplace amenities, etc. will all be different across the board as they are today. I believe that those same different metrics which apply to different industries will still be the same in the future and that remote workforce as it exists today will continue to exist in the future. The need to work from home remotely and have flexibility will all be factors as we move forward. For those industries that require physical connection, interface and collaboration, the need for better video conferencing interaction and collaborative space within physical offices will all continue to evolve.
What advice would you offer to employers who want to future-proof their organizations?
Unfortunately, there is no way to future proof your organization since the economy, technology and the labor force are constantly changing. All you can do is try and stay a little bit ahead of the curve and be flexible when opportunity for change arises to be able to mold your platform around those changes.
What do you predict will be the biggest gaps between what employers are willing to offer and what employees expect as we move forward? And what strategies would you offer about how to reconcile those gaps?
I believe that as the economy changes and as we move into a full-blown recession then the expectations of employees for significant wage increases, additional benefits, time off, remote work capabilities and other concessions that employees have had the benefit of requesting and receiving throughout Covid and in the post-Covid era will begin to deteriorate very quickly. As employers start to lay off staff the simple concept of having a job and a paycheck will far supersede all of these other requests. Many employees will be forced to go back to work on a daily basis or continue to be unemployed looking for the ideal set up. Many employers will begin to tighten the belt and look for employees that have much more flexibility in their thinking. The solutions for reconciling those gaps between differences an employee wants and an employee desires will be resolved in one of two ways. Either the employer will get rid of the employee and modify their staff to get a new corporate culture and new faces to do it “their way” or a combination of employee modifications to their mindset combined with job security will also be another way to bridge the gap.
We simultaneously joined a global experiment together last year called “Working From Home.” How will this experience influence the future of work?
Once again, those industries that cannot afford to have employees working remotely either part time or full time, will slowly start to swap out those employees with ones that have the capacity to come to work on a daily basis in a central office. Others that can afford to practically and financially have their people work remotely will continue to come up with creative ways for partial at home, work or complete remote access. The determining factor will be productivity and accountability. This will be an ever evolving conversation and experiment.
We’ve all read the headlines about how the pandemic reshaped the workforce. What societal changes do you foresee as necessary to support a future of work that works for everyone?
We’ve already seen changes to the workforce dynamic, the workplace in terms of safety and security measures and implementation of amenities and common areas for collaboration and separation at the same time. The desire for people to work from home is a permanent aspect of the future of work and employers and employees will have to work together to try and solve it.
What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of work?
My greatest source of optimism about the future of work is that employees need a paycheck and want to interface with others on a daily basis not only for the social benefit but also the variety and sharing of knowledge and ideas. In my opinion, this can only be accomplished through some type of integration in the office. I am optimistic that employees will recognize this and will incorporate that into their thinking moving forward.
Our collective mental health and wellbeing are now considered collateral as we consider the future of work. What innovative strategies do you see employers offering to help improve and optimize their employee’s mental health and wellbeing?
We have utilized amenities, employee bonding events, employee appreciation events, additional benefits as part of our health package for mental health and well being. All of these are a part of a corporate culture to help incentivize the employee to stay with the company and want to come to work. I think that you will continue to see this moving forward.
It seems like there’s a new headline every day. ‘The Great Resignation’. ‘The Great Reconfiguration’. And now the ‘Great Reevaluation’. What are the most important messages leaders need to hear from these headlines? How do company cultures need to evolve?
Leaders need to create opportunity for job growth on a continual basis so that companies can continue to thrive and this will create changes in the labor force, the requirement for new skills sets and an ever evolving company culture. Large companies will have completely different goals and objectives than smaller middle-sized companies. Each size company will have to navigate those challenges in their own specific industry and evaluate them against their competitors and to ensure that they have a solid labor force moving forward.
Let’s get more specific. What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Work?”
1. Remote working.
2. Employee benefits.
3. Employee optimization of salary growth.
4. Employer optimization of employee productivity.
5. Corporate culture that works for both employers and employees.
I keep quotes on my desk and on scraps of paper to stay inspired. What’s your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? And how has this quote shaped your perspective?
There are many quotes that we use around our office, one of which I enjoy every day is, “Good luck with that!” What we mean by that is that we appreciate your effort and we wish you luck in succeeding with whatever project or goal you are looking to accomplish while recognizing that there are challenges that are to be faced in accomplishing those goals. Sometimes it’s very sarcastic and others it is heartfelt depending upon how it’s delivered. It is applicable on a daily basis in our office.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He, she, or they might just see this if we tag them.
I would enjoy breakfast or lunch or a round of golf with Troy Aikman because he and I went to UCLA together at the same time and also dated the same girl back in the day. We both support UCLA and their athletics department and I admire him as an athlete, sports commentator and businessman I am sure we would have lots to talk about. I hope he tunes into to this piece. Go Bruins.
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The Saywitz Company can be found at www.saywitz.com as well as on Linked-In and Facebook
@TheSaywitzCompany
Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and good health.