Coffee Shops, Beauty Salons, and Pet Spaces Take Over Offices to Attract Employees and Tenants Back to the Workplace

From Parque da Cidade to the Cidade Bradesco complex, amenities that were once exclusive to hotels and resorts are becoming part of the daily routine for companies in an effort to bring tenants back to the office.

Juliana Bertoni, headhunter at Gi Group Holding

By: SiiLA News

09/20/2024

A recent report by The New York Times introduced the concept of "resortification" of offices, an attempt to make the workplace more attractive for employees who are required to work in person. The return to in-person work is also being seen in Brazil, both in private companies and the public sector.

In August, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) issued a directive ending full-time remote work and mandating the return to in-person work. The same is happening in the private sector; a recent Wall Street Journal report revealed that Goldman Sachs is using work models as one of the criteria for determining layoffs.

In addition to companies pushing employees back to in-person work, offering products and experiences has proven to be an effective strategy to entice workers out of their homes. "Resortification" includes architectural elements traditionally found in resorts and hotels, such as relaxation spaces, gyms, restaurants, and even artificial scents simulating country or coastal environments.

According to Juliana Bertoni, headhunter at Gi Group Holding, 100% in-person work is no longer attractive to employees, and the work environment needs to be flexible to meet individual needs.

"What can make these environments more appealing? I think it revolves around flexibility. Often, having internal programs with events, the possibility of bringing your children to the office to see the workplace — some companies have even introduced initiatives allowing employees to bring their pets to the office," Bertoni explains.

Além da cultura

The concept of a "cool office" predates the pandemic, popularly described as the "Google office," with spaces offering various amenities to make life easier for those working on-site. For example, the Parque da Cidade complex features restaurants, shopping malls, a gym, and a park with trees and walking paths,

In addition to a modern environment, employees are looking for quality of life. To attract new tenants, property owners are investing in infrastructure, preparing buildings to offer these conveniences.

Another example is the Alto das Nações complex, located just a few blocks from Parque da Cidade. This complex includes a park, a shopping mall, a mixed-use tower, a residential tower, and a commercial tower that is set to become the tallest in São Paulo, on land that once housed a Carrefour store.

Photos: SiiLA and publicity/reproduction

"Cosmopolitan" is how Eztec describes the development. With the mall and mixed-use tower already completed, these assets promise to balance the lives of those who frequent these spaces. For Bertoni, all infrastructure focused on well-being is the future of work.

"I think this is a trend. To truly get people out of their homes and into the office, it will certainly be necessary to offer this type of development. An example is Bradesco, with Cidade Bradesco, where you have hair salons, laundry services, pharmacies, and a supermarket. You don't need to leave the workplace to run errands after hours because everything is already there," Bertoni adds.

This complex mentioned by the headhunter is located in Osasco, São Paulo, in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood. The entire infrastructure includes soccer and tennis courts, swimming pools, museums, gyms, cafés, and more.

Another similar example is the Carrefour Campus in Alphaville. The location houses the company's headquarters and was designed to facilitate face-to-face interaction among employees, offering gyms, beauty salons, laundry services, and a pet space.

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