GREEN BAY, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) — One of the questions being asked during the coronavirus pandemic is how will it change the way people around the world work.
For Wisconsin Public Service in Green Bay, that means leaving its long-time campus and continuing remote work for many of the professional, administrative and support operations.
“This really highlights and speaks to the dedication that our employees have shown,” said WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen. “They’ve clearly demonstrated over the past few months — really since mid-March since the situation began here in the United States — that they can be productive, can be efficient and can accomplish all of the things they would normally accomplish in an office environment while working remotely.”
The pandemic was one part of the equation, but there were other factors. The downtown campus isn’t being fully utilized and the buildings are in need of significant renovations, he said.
The move affects about 450 employees who will either work remote or can transfer to other WPS buildings — like the Green Bay Service Center in Ashwaubenon — in the greater Green Bay Area.
The possibility of some companies moving to full-time remote operations has been talked about as one of the long-term impacts of the shutdown.
Kevin Jones, co-onwer of Adashun Jones Real Estate, said its too soon to tell if companies leaving long-time office complexes for remote work will be a trend.
“We’re not seeing people go completely away from brick and mortar,” he said. “What I do see is a combination of working from home and having more boutique office space. So maybe some of these larger strip centers are going from having three 3,500-square-foot offices to maybe five. Now the square footage is more like 2,000. That’s more of what we’re seeing, an adaptation. ”
Adashun Jones operates several real estate offices in the Fox Valley.
Cullen said the transition away from the Green Bay campus is expected to be complete by November.The company will then sell the property.