Allstate to Sell Northbrook Headquarters in Strong Endorsement of Hybrid Work

Allstate Corp. plans to sell its headquarters building, marking the U.S. finance industry’s firmest endorsement yet of the desire to offer hybrid work after the pandemic.

With many employees choosing to work remotely, the insurance giant will sell its offices in Northbrook, Illinois, according to an emailed statement Friday. The complex in a Chicago suburb has several buildings that total 1.9 million square feet on a 186-acre (75 hectares), Allstate has said in regulatory filings.

“Allstate’s employees have more choice about where they work and many are choosing to work from home,” said Tammy Kotula, a spokeswoman for Allstate. “As a result, we will sell our office in Northbrook but plan to keep a significant presence in the Chicago area.”

Most of the biggest U.S. banks have spent much of the summer cajoling staffers back into towers. Allstate — with nearly 42,000 employees — is joining the raft of smaller financial firms that are embracing remote work on a permanent basis after the pandemic.

Capital One Financial Corp. has said it will designate Mondays and Fridays as firm-wide remote-working days even after it reopens offices sometime next year. Synchrony Financial has told employees they can work from home forever if they’d like.

–With assistance from Jenny Surane.