Christian Ulbrich says working from the office is ‘core’. Just make sure it is a beautiful place to be as well 

Christian Ulbrich’s first job involved sitting on a pod of five desks, right next to his boss. “I could consistently learn by just observing him, overhearing his conversations, asking him quick questions, and so my learning experience was fantastic. It would have never been possible if I had worked from home.” 

His son had a different experience. His first job was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the first 15 months was largely remote. “He was working from home, and he was devastated,” Ulbrich told me. “The ability to learn for him was minimized.” 

Ulbrich is the CEO of the real estate giant, JLL, so has skin in the game. Position 175 on the Fortune 500 (up from 188 a year earlier)—its share price hit a high of $393 in August, compared with a five-year low of $123 in 2023. On its Q2 earnings call in July, Ulbrich announced JLL was raising its profit guidance, given 11% revenue growth across the business and a 21% increase in revenue from advisory property services. The in-office market is back. 

“From a plain efficiency point of view, and if we generalize, it’s clearly more efficient to have people in the office than if they work from home,” he said.........

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