Remote work growing at Nebraska businesses

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More Nebraskans are working remotely, and it seems more businesses appear comfortable with the arrangement.

That was the conclusion of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln survey released recently.

You’ve probably heard the term Great Resignation, which referred to the 25 million Americans quitting their jobs at the beginning of 2022. Now, experts are shifting the concept to the Great Reshuffle or Great Rethink, as this trend is far from over.The Great Resignation created the idea that people were leaving the labor force forever, but new hard data is proving differently. People didn’t quit working altogether. Instead, they are switching jobs.”Our society has been fundamentally changed by this disease, and I think this has given people pause about, ‘Is this how I want to live my life?'” said David Blustein, a professor of counseling psychology at Boston College.In many cases, people left jobs that gave them little ability to have control over their lives. For quite some time, this seemed temporary, but experts are saying this shift is just the beginning of the next chapter of the workforce.A new study indicates that about 81% do not regret leaving their previous job and are generally happy about their workplace decisions. Blustein points out people are putting life before work something that up until this point has been foreign to the American workforce.”What’s going on is, I mean, I guess we can call it a ‘Great Rethink’ about work,” Blustein said. “I think we’re going to see this continue to evolve as the years and decades ensue.”The reality, he says, is the newest generation of the workforce will avoid industries and companies that aren’t providing flexibility. The focus is no longer on paying dues.SEE MORE: US added a strong 517,000 jobs in January despite Fed hikesDavid Bechtold is an associate professor of business management at Metropolitan State University in Denver. He says what’s new is that people’s trajectories have changed. The typical model of retirement is on the road to extinction.”Though I still think there will be opportunities for people coming out to have a lot more control over what they are going to do and what they want to get out of their first job,” Bechtold said. “So, we’re really into a very unusual dynamic with a lot of uncertainty and a lot of erratic behavior.”The pandemic opened up opportunities for untraditional work settings, but 2023 is proving those opportunities are now becoming models for how workplaces need to operate.”The level of flexibility and freedom I think is a good thing because it requires employers to think through how are they going to acquire, manage and retain their employees,” Bechtold said.”It allowed people the experience that they could combine their personal and work lives. It will never go back,” said Cristina Banks, the director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Health Workplaces at the University of California Berkeley.Banks says while more employers are getting on board with this shift, there is still a disconnect.”Employers want it one way, and the newly empowered workers want it a different way,” Banks said. “Employers are going to suffer by not evolving.”She points out that employers are the ones currently at a disadvantage because at this moment, the options are plentiful for workers.”There are still more jobs out there than employees to fill by significant number,” Bechtold said.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in November of 2022, there were about 10.4 million jobs available, but just 6 million people were looking for a job.”That will be the great equalizer. When there are more people entering the job market and there are fewer jobs to be filled,” Bechtold said.The Great Resignation is in the past, but now, we are facing the Great Rethink, giving an opportunity for employees and employers to get on the same page about changes to the workforce that aren’t going anywhere.SEE MORE: WTKR: Scammers luring job hunters with fake remote jobs

The Bureau of Business Research conducted the survey from June through September to examine the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial real estate usage and remote work in Nebraska.

The survey found changes in attitudes about working from home and the frequency of employees doing so, yet little change in the usage of office space.

On average, 16.5% of workers are fully remote or have a hybrid work schedule according to the survey, compared with 10.7% before the pandemic. The survey also found that 27.6% of businesses are more comfortable with remote work now than they used to be, while 13.3% are less comfortable.

Despite the increase in remote work, the survey found that very few businesses have reduced their physical footprint.

In fact, the survey found that more businesses (7.3%) increased space than reduced it (3.7%). The rest kept the same amount of space.

Eric Thompson, director of Bureau of Business Research, said there are likely a couple of reasons for the lack of downsizing. For one, 52% of businesses said they believe it is vital to maintain office space for remote workers on occasions when they come into the office.

“Many surveyed businesses also own their own building and do not rent out space. These businesses would have difficulty quickly changing office space use,” Thompson said.

The survey was conducted for the Nebraska Business Development Center and funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. It was sent to 1,599 Nebraska businesses and had an 18.9% response rate.

Investment spurs big returns

Another report from the Bureau of Business Research shows that the state’s Business Innovation Act has been very successful in supporting Nebraska-based startup companies.

The report, released earlier this month, analyzed the overall economic impact the innovation programs have had by spurring the growth of Nebraska startups.

According to the report, every $1 of Business Innovation Act funds invested generated $10.68 in private capital investment. In addition, companies that received the funds generated $12.23 in revenue for every $1 of innovation funds received.

The report also found that businesses taking part in the Innovation Act programs have added 1,604 jobs and created more than $104.7 million in annual wages since their inceptions. In 2022, Innovation Act-supported businesses had a combined economic impact of $752.3 million, resulting in $16.3 million of state and local tax receipts.

“Nebraska’s startup scene is as strong as ever, thanks in large part to the Business Innovation Act,” Joe Fox, director of business development for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, said in a news release. “BIA programs have sparked investment in innovative Nebraska companies, providing key funding to support entrepreneurship. BIA programs are a valuable tool for the state to invest in high-potential, high-tech small businesses at every stage of growth — from seed funding to prototype development to product commercialization.”

Google project still a go

It appears Google’s plans for a data center near the 56th Street exit on Interstate 80 are still crawling along.

A representative of Olsson filed an application earlier this month for an administrative amendment on behalf of the yet-unnamed developer to update its approved use permit “to provide street profiles, grading and drainage, and water quality information so the applicant may proceed with a building permit and/or final plat.”

Google has never been publicly linked with the development, but state tax incentive applications related to the project were filed in 2020 by XXVI Holdings, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

The Lincoln data center was originally proposed in the summer of 2019, and documents submitted to the city at the time suggested that at full build-out it could encompass 2 million square feet of buildings and have nearly 1,000 employees.

The documents estimated construction would start in 2020, with the potential for 160 people to be working in the first buildings by 2022.

It’s obvious that timeline was upended by the coronavirus pandemic, but the lack of any announcements surrounding the project, combined with Google’s announcement last year that it plans a data center on the northwest side of Omaha — which will be its third in the Omaha metro area — led to some speculation that the company may have changed its plans for Lincoln.

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, usually provides an update on the company’s annual investment plans in late winter or early spring, so it’s possible there could be some announcement on the Lincoln plans coming in the next couple of months.