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Could employers be selling the wrong RTO, um, benefits?

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Could employers be selling the wrong RTO, um, benefits?

We’ve all heard the arguments for getting workers to return to the office.
 
It fosters innovation. Encourages collaboration. Supports teamwork. Allows for those informal conversations. Nurtures careers, mentoring and professional development. And on and on.
 
But here’s one more selling point for in-person work that most employers likely aren’t touting but may still be on some employees’ minds:
 
More than one third of single white-collar workers think returning to the office will help their sex lives, according to a new survey by the professional social network Blind.
 
While 35% of available office workers think in-person work will help their sex lives, 49% said it won’t make a difference.
 
Then there’s the 16% who believe it will make their sex lives worse. 
 
COVID surge ‘turning the corner’
 
The most recent update from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's COVID-19 wastewater tracker, submitted over the weekend, shows COVID levels declining somewhat, reports NBC10 Boston.
 
It's "the big drop we've been waiting for," tweeted Joseph Allen, a professor at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
 
But then there's monkeypox
 
Meanwhile, some 200 people, mostly health care workers, came in contact with a patient at Mass General last week who had the monkeypox virus, the Globe reports.
 
Housing law 'should be welcomed, not feared'
 
The folks in Falmouth have a message to those municipal leaders who’ve been --as a Globe editorial described it -- “wailing” about the state’s new MBTA Communities Law.
 
The housing law “should be welcomed, not feared.”
 
They're referring, of course, to the bill passed late last year which requires 175 cities and towns – from the Cape Cod Canal to the New Hampshire border to Worcester – to loosen zoning rules to allow multifamily housing in proximity to subway, bus or commuter rail stops.
 
Falmouth isn’t one of the 175 communities. But officials there were inspired by the legislation and adopted its key requirements, writes Eric Turkington, a former state rep, in CommonWealth.
 
“Now, six months after [its] passage at town meeting and two months after its approval by the attorney general, [the change] has already generated its first project: The owner of an auto repair shop on Main Street has submitted plans to replace it with a restaurant and 10 residential units.”
 
And that’s exactly how this law is supposed to work.
It removes the restrictive zoning that has kept small developers and individual property owners from making incremental changes that collectively can chip away at our housing crisis.
 
And it still won't be enough
 
One thing MBTA Communities opponents rarely mention is that the law doesn’t mandate the building of new housing. It only requires changing the zoning, which theoretically could yield as many as 344,084 new housing units across Eastern Massachusetts built gradually over several decades.
 
Scott Van Voorhis presents the math this way for Contrarian Boston:
 
“Let’s say every single one of those 175 MBTA communities fully complies with the new law and rolls out new zoning rules allowing for new multi-family housing near their train, subway and buses stations. And we’ll put aside the fact that this is a near impossibility given the backlash against the plan by suburban leaders.
 
“And let’s just say, for arguments sake, that developers swoop in and build every single possible apartment and condo allowed under the plan over the next 15 years, an even unlikelier possibility.
 
“That would raise new housing construction back to levels last seen in the 1980s, when Massachusetts was roughly average in the amount of new housing produced, instead of being at the bottom of the pack, as it is now.
 
“And back when, we had roughly a million fewer people living in the state.’
 
 
Wellesley rolls out water restrictions
 
 
Wellesley has instituted a mandatory alternate day outdoor watering schedule for homes and businesses; a ban on outdoor watering between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and a request to reduce the amount of outdoor watering time by 20 percent.
 
The measures are needed to ensure that Wellesley’s water supply continues to protect the health and safety of residents, including providing enough water necessary to fight fires, the town said in a statement.
 
Water supplies in town are lower due to drier than normal conditions this spring and also because the Morses Pond water treatment plant, which supplies over one million gallons of water per day, was taken offline in May 2021 after tests showed higher than allowed levels of PFAS6 substances.
 
While the Morses Pond treatment plant is scheduled to come back on line in June, these restrictions are necessary to ensure adequate supply for essential water use, the town added.
 
Calling all emerging brands, artists, entrepreneurs and innovators
 
UpNext is partnering with Needham, Newton, Wellesley and other municipalities to launch a new season of Project: Pop-Up!
 
This opportunity provides a low-risk way for small businesses to test drive the brick and mortar experience. If you have an idea for a pop-up retail shop featuring a new innovative product or emerging brand learn more and apply here
 
Other need to knows
   
  • Nordblom and the developers of the former Sterritt Lumber site on Waltham Street in Watertown will host a community meeting on May 26 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss a proposed office/lab building. Watertown News has details and a rendering.
   
  • Boylston Properties has tapped Robyn Duffy to head the company’s new vertically-integrated division Boylston Properties Management Company. Duffy joins Boylston from JLL. (Boston Real Estate Times).
 
  • Commonwealth Corporation’s new SCALE Planning Grant aims to help companies solve their training, education, and talent needs at a high volume through ARPA-funded workforce programs. Details
 
 
Reminder to our members
 
Our online member directory gets thousands of hits each month from folks looking for vendor or service. It's also the first place the chamber staff turns when we’re asked to make a member referral.
 
But like most things in life, what you get out of your member listing depends on what you put into it.
 
Please take a minute today to see how your business or nonprofit looks to others by searching here. Then watch this short video to learn how you can update your profile to enhance your visibility.
 
If you have any questions or need help getting started, call or email Maxime at 617-500-6464
 
And if you're not a member...
 
If you've been on the fence about becoming a chamber member, join us virtually tomorrow (Weds) at 9:30 for our latest Future Member Open House.
 
Learn what belonging to our 900-plus member organization and how we can help you grow your business and enhance your professional development. RSVP.
 
Can't attend, but still interested in membership? Email us and we'll get right back to you.
 
 
That's your need to knows for today, unless you need to know if you should use an expired COVID at-home test kit.
 
 
Be back Thursday and let's hope the Celtics are 3-2 by then.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688
 
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