Dive Brief:

• Tishman Speyer has rolled out a unique "work-life balance" amenity package at its Rockefeller Center property in New York City, with plans to offer the service at its other city properties by the end of the year, according to Real Estate Weekly.
• The tenant offering, called "Zo," gives a building's occupants access to emergency child care, an on-call nurse, food delivery, rideshares, a travel agent, volunteer opportunities and a beauty service that provides manicures and hair care.
• Tishman representatives told Bisnow that their research indicates that workers are more productive when they feel they have a good balance between their work and personal lives. The company said it was inspired by Silicon Valley businesses that emphasized employee satisfaction.

Dive Insight:

This is yet another indication that gone are the days when employees jockeyed for management approval by appearing to live at their desks, and workplace design is changing to reflect that shift. New offices are reflective of the value placed on collaboration, and many designers have done away with individual work spaces in favor of open floor plans. Even the most stubborn employers have made these changes to compete for younger workers who place a premium on feeling valued, want a community feel at work and need their work life to count for more than just a paycheck.

Location also plays into this trend as workers, particularly millennials, want to live in urban areas that make a walkable lifestyle possible and don't want to spend hours commuting each day. Companies have recognized that they must go to where the employees are, and many have plotted a new course for downtown neighborhoods in major metros. Caterpillar, for example spent about 100 years in Peoria, IL, but recently announced plans to move its headquarters to the Chicago area in order to tap a bigger pool of talent, as well as to have better access to international clients. McDonald's has done the same and is building its new corporate office complex on the site of Oprah Winfrey's former Harpo Studios, also in Chicago.