Americans are divided about the prospect of returning to the office. With a mutant virus resurrecting Covid concerns, remote-work productivity surprisingly high, and pajamas as comfortable as ever, companies and employees are not exactly on the same page. Just ask Aby Rosen’s wife.
Dr. Samantha Boardman, the Upper East Side psychiatrist married to the prominent commercial landlord, says a return to the office has her clients on edge.
“There is a huge amount of dread right now, as a lot of people anticipate reporting back to the workplace,” she told the New York Times in an interview to promote her new book.
Her husband begs to differ. In December 2020, even as Covid case counts looked ready to climb off the y-axis, Rosen said firms have been too “nice-nice” with their employees.
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The RFR Holding chief favors in-person work so much that he called his staff into the office in June last year. While Dr. Boardman was working from home, Rosen’s 110 employees were back in Midtown. As a number of companies did to ease the transition, RFR offered perks such as free car service and rooms at the nearby Gramercy Park Hotel, which the firm owns.
Even though Dr. Boardman reports her clients are “rattled by the idea” of returning to the workplace, her husband’s business is banking on a comeback. RFR owns at least 15 office buildings in New York, including such trophies as the Seagram Building and Chrysler Building. In all, the firm holds about $10 billion worth of real estate.
Despite their strong opinions on returns to the office, neither Boardman nor Rosen returned requests for comment.