There is "no question" that office occupiers have been the least impacted by inflation, according to one industry economist—but that doesn't mean they're immune from the challenges wrought by the current economic environment.

In a new analysis, Cushman & Wakefield's Rebecca Rockey notes that since office occupiers are generally service providers, they've had it easier when it comes to inflation.  But there's a catch: "they are experiencing no shortage of challenges as they adapt to work-from-anywhere and intense competition for talent that now has fewer city-edge borders," she writes. "Companies are also struggling to commit to new pay models for remote-first or mainly-remote workers who can potentially have a much lower cost-of-living than non-remote workers in similar roles."

And since occupiers generally dedicate between 30% and 70% of operating expenses to labor, with much of their value being derived from intangible assets like intellectual property, retaining and recruiting talent amidst the Great Resignation is even more vital, she says. What's more, while wages are generally rising across industries at 6% year over year, finance and business services are posting below-average wage growth at 5% year over year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.