LOS ANGELES—A recent Caruso Affiliated-sponsored workplace survey uncovered that most American workers are having trouble keeping up with the "second shift" of running personal errands. As a result, most employees said they feel a imbalance between work and life. The also survey showed that 94% of American workers are using work time to run personal errands to keep up. With the support of these findings, Caruso is launching a corporate concierge program to help employees keep up with personal errands and maintain a better work-life balance. The program is akin to the concierge service that Caruso provides in its luxury mixed-use properties.

"Employees are the most important asset to any given business and they are more productive when they are excited to come work, as their happiness is a critical component in the luxury service industry," Vincent Burneikis, VP of learning, development and hospitality at Caruso Affiliated, tells GlobeSt.com. "We saw our corporate concierge program as an opportunity to invest in our employees' happiness and to make their lives easier by giving back to them, saving time at work and enriching their free time out of the office and making our employees more productive while in the office."

The concierge menu of services is impressive, ranging from grocery shopping with office or car delivery to meal service to dry cleaning to shopping appointments, gift wrapping and party and vacation planning—and the list goes on. Caruso is the first company to develop an office concierge program that offers employees the same benefits as residents in their mixed-use facilities. "Our philosophy is to offer best-in-class service in all asset classes to our guests, residents and employees. Offering the corporate concierge service to our valued employees was a natural next step for Caruso Affiliated," says Burneikis. "We're really pleased to be able to reward our staff with the gift of time."

While many new office movements, like creative office design and amenitized buildings, target the millennial generation, this program is designed to aid all employees. The survey found that Americans age 35 to 44 were those that were the most "strapped for time," and two-thirds said that their career made it difficult for them to keep up with personal tasks. "When we launched corporate concierge, we made it our mission to conquer any task that will or has been handed to us; we cater to everyone and our team will continue to think of innovative ways to make our employees' lives easier," Burneikis adds. "A little help from us means more time for them."

The program has already saved employees a combined 540 hours of personal time, and has gained the company an back 100 minutes of work time per employee. "We have already seen the benefits on several levels of productivity and wellness. We have received countless "thank you" notes from employees, describing how a refueling service saved them the stress of hitting the gas station before a meeting, or how having groceries waiting in the car means extra time with kids," says Burneikis. "We hope that these services will enhance our employees' lives and will be a tool in helping them continue to achieve great success at Caruso Affiliated.  We genuinely feel that this initiative has and will continue to assist in employee satisfaction and retention and will assist in furthering our goal of attracting world-class talent to the company."