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Watching Where Your Money Goes

European Office Costs: Brussels a Bargain


Brussels is Europe?s office bargain at US$29.62 per sq. ft. a year, while London, with comparable costs of $116.70, is the land of the big occupancy-cost spenders, according to CB Richard Ellis? (www.cbcommercial.com) recent survey. Of 17 major European cities, Rome and Vienna respectively ranked Nos. 2 and 3 as least expensive, while Moscow and Paris respectively ranked Nos. 2 and 3 as most expensive.


Office Rentals: How Europe Stacks Up

             $US/sq. ft./year (sq. m./year)

1. Brussels, Belgium???$29.62 ($319)

2. Rome??.$30.36 ($327)

3. Vienna, Austria??.$31.38 ($338)

4. Budapest, Hungary?..$33.33 ($359)

5. Milan, Italy??$33.51 ($361)

6. Amsterdam, Netherlands?..$34.26 ($369)

7. Madrid, Spain??.$35.84 ($386)

8. Prague, Czech Republic?..$38.07 ($410)

9. Geneva??.$42.15 ($454)

10. Stockholm, Sweden??.$44.66 ($481)

11. Dublin, Ireland??.$44.94 ($484)

12. Zurich, Switzerland??.$50.05 ($539)

13. Frankfurt, Germany??.$52.09 ($561)

14. Warsaw, Poland??.$52.37 ($564)

15. Paris??.$66.57 ($717)

16. Moscow??.$68.80 ($741)

17. London??.$116.71 ($1,257)

Source: CB Richard Ellis, March 1999


Workplace No. 2 Factor in Retention/Recruitment


New research spearheaded by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID at www.interiors.org) underscores the workplace?s major role in employee recruitment/retention: 50 percent of respondents cited ?physical work space? as ?playing a major role? in deciding to leave a current job.


?The workplace should be viewed as an investment in productivity enhancement that supports the organization’s strategic direction. [It] belongs on the balance sheet as opposed to simply an expense that shows up on the P&L,? said Jerry Johanneson, president and CEO of Haworth, which, along with ASID, the Carpet and Rug Institute, and USG Interiors, commissioned the survey.


While compensation is the survey?s runaway No. 1 reason in accepting or leaving jobs, work space virtually tied for No. 2, well ahead of ?job satisfaction.?


Moving Logic: Why Employees Leave

M and R Top 10

1. Compensation????.62%

2. Benefits????. 22%

3. Physical Workplace??21%

4. Job Satisfaction??.18%

5. Coworker Interactions?..14%

6. Daily Activities??.11%

6. Office Location??.11%

Source: ASID office worker survey, June 1999. Percentages reflect the proportion of respondents citing factors as primary reasons for accepting or leaving jobs.


M&R Costs: New York Highest,
Columbus, Ga., Lowest


Depending on your location, facility maintenance and repair (M&R) costs can vary as much as 100 percent, according to a new report from Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Whitestone Research (www.whitestoneresearch.com). Among 140 U.S. metros, average M&R cost per sq. ft. ranged from $2.27 in New York City to $1.17 in Columbus, Ga., with ?much of the difference attributable to staff and contractor labor costs,? the report says.

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