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每日英語跟讀 Ep.K301: 員工回歸 辦公室支出增加 Air Filters and Outdoor Spaces

The cost of office maintenance dropped significantly in the pandemic when workers went remote, as companies saved money on services like cleaning and security, as well as perks like dry cleaning and endless pantry snacks.

疫情期間當員工遠距上班時，辦公室維護的費用顯著減少，在清潔和保全等服務，以及乾洗衣服和無止盡的架上零食方面，公司省下了錢。

But as employees begin to head back to the office, the cost of running the workplace is increasing.

但是當員工開始回歸辦公室之際，維持工作場域的花費也在增加。

By December, about 40% of workers had returned at least part time, although the omicron variant of the coronavirus has put a chill on return-to-office plans. And developers still expect that employees will be back on site in the long run, even if hybrid work becomes more common. CP Group, which owns

and manages 32 office buildings, mostly in the Southeast and Southwest, has bought $1.2 billion of office space since May, a wager that staffs will return.

迄12月時，約四成勞工至少部分時間已回到辦公室，雖然新冠病毒Omicron變異株已影響回歸辦公室計畫。而開發商仍然期待，長期下來員工將返回工作場所，即使混合工作型態愈來愈普遍。擁有並管理32棟辦公大樓，多數位於東南部和西南部的CP集團，去年5月以來已買下價值12億美元的辦公空間，賭的是員工會回來。

More robust air filtration and newly installed outdoor spaces are among the items that will add to developers’ costs when more employees return. New cleaning practices may make those services more expensive, and landlords are offering new amenities to lure tenants back.

當更多員工回歸之際，更強力的空氣清淨器和新裝設的室外空間，都在增加開發商花費的項目中。新的清潔方式可能讓這些服務更貴，房東也提供新的便利措施以吸引租戶回流。

“Operating expenses were down a bit in 2020,” said Kristin Mueller, chief operating officer for property management at JLL, a real estate services company that oversees more than 1,000 office buildings across the United States. “For 2022 properties budgets, we are anticipating modest overall

increases.”

「營運支出在2020年有些微減少」，在全美各地管理超過1000棟辦公大樓的房地產服務公司JLL，物業管理營運長克莉絲汀．穆勒說，「關於2022年的預算，我們預期會有適度的整體增加」。

The cost to run the office today remains lower than pre-pandemic levels but not as significantly as many managers expected, because each savings area has a factor that can complicate or offset it, Mueller said.

穆勒說，今日維持辦公室的費用水平仍比疫情前低，但未如許多經理人預期的顯著，因為每個能省錢的方面都有個會變複雜或抵消的因素在。

Having fewer employees on site translates to less daily cleaning and trash collection, for instance, but those reduced janitorial services are often countered by directives for deep disinfecting, as well as higher labor costs for maintenance. And spending on supplies like coffee filters, pens and paper towels may be down, but they have been replaced by purchases like hand sanitizer and masks.

舉例來說，辦公室較少員工意味著較少的每日清潔和收垃圾，但這些減少的清潔服務常常和深度殺菌的指令衝突，以及更高的維修人力費用。而且，花在咖啡濾紙、筆和紙巾等日用品的費用可能減少了，但是它們被購買乾洗手和口罩取代。

Because the coronavirus is spread through airborne transmission, one of the most significant changes in building operation has been a focus on air quality. Many companies are scrutinizing their ventilation, which could involve installing more robust air filters to screen out virus particles, for example, or replacing the building’s air more frequently.

因為新冠病毒透過空氣傳播擴散，大樓營運最顯著的改變之一就是著重空氣品質。例如，許多公司檢查他們的換氣系統，其中可能包括裝設更強效的空氣濾網，擋住病毒分子，或是更頻繁的讓大樓換氣。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6017981