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Private equity billionaire Stephen Schwarzman doesn’t think workplace staff have worked hard enough during Covid-19.
Schwarzman, Blackstone’s chief executive whose net worth is estimated at $32 billion, told a crowd of investors at a posh convention in Saudi Arabia known as “Davos in the desert” that other people who portrayed the pandemic remotely “didn’t do it so hard. regardless of what you’ve been told.
Of course, many Americans would say they’ve never worked harder.
Parents had to juggle near-constant Zoom meetings and Slack messages while simultaneously helping children whose schools were closed. Others had to care for young children and children whose daycares were closed or help elderly relatives in quarantine with them.
To catch up at work, some parents ended up arriving late, early, or working on weekends.
Americans in particular have reported spikes in Covid strain levels.
One-third of U. S. adults reported experiencing stress, anxiety, and wonderful sadness that are difficult to manage alone, a particularly higher proportion than in other countries, according to a Commonwealth Fund report released in August 2020.
Schwarzman spoke about remote jobs on Tuesday amid the impact on the advertising real estate market, where Blackstone enjoys significant exposure as a top real estate investor.
“During the pandemic, other people got used to staying home,” Schwarzman said. “It was more successful for them to stay home because, first of all, they didn’t run as hard, no matter what they told you. Second, they don’t spend money to get around. They can prepare their lunch at home. They don’t want to buy expensive clothes, so their source of income is greater. “
The official call for the convention organized in Saudi Arabia is the Future Investment Initiative. During the same Schwarzman roundtable, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, explained that 60% of his company’s workers now work five days a week, while 30% are required to work 3 days a week. “We’re following it,” Dimon said.
The JPMorgan chief added that the bank’s top executives will have to be present at the workplace 100 percent of the time.
“I don’t think you can take other people and work from home,” Dimon said.
Still, lately many workers are working remotely, at least once in a while.
For example, about 58% of Manhattan staff were working on an average workday in late August and September, according to a survey conducted by the Partnership for New York City. This is up from 49% in September 2022, but down from 49% in September 2022. 80% before Covid-19.
According to this survey, only 12% of staff in Manhattan work full-time.
Schwarzman, Blackstone’s chief executive, estimates that 20% of U. S. office buildings are vacant and another 20% are leased still empty. He predicted that when existing leases expire, companies would reduce the amount of office space they rent, leaving many office buildings — especially older ones — “unable to do so as economic entities. “
“It’s going to end really badly,” Schwarzman said.
Blackstone told investors earlier this year that it had reduced its exposure to U. S. buildings from more than 60% of its real estate portfolio in 2007 to less than 2% today.
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