Fewer than Half of Office Workers Expected to Return to Work By January 2022, Global Studies Suggest
Tuesday, 2nd November 2021
Less than a third of New York office workers have returned to work, a new study suggests, while fewer than half are expected back in the office by January.
A study in Toronto shows that even fewer workers have returned to work in the Canadian city.
In India, half of tech employees are expected in the office at least three days a week by January 2022.
Concerns about COVID-19 and staff wellbeing remain the most important factor preventing full return.
Employees still expect to work from home into 2022
Only 28% of workers in Manhattan have so far returned to the office, according to research by Partnership for New York City.
The poll of 188 big employees in Manhattan found that fewer than half office employees—or 49%—will return to their desk on an average weekday in January. Only 13% are expected to be back full-time, while 21% will still be fully remote.
The research also found that attendance rates differed dramatically by sector, with 80% of real estate employees expected to return—but only 24% of tech workers.
48% of respondents cited COVID-19 as the main reason for the slow speed of the return to work, above employee preference for working at home.
As a result, employers in Manhattan are taking measures to reduce viral risk.
49% of those that responded, for example, reported that employees must be vaccinated from COVID-19 to return to the office, while over a quarter of businesses are mandating masks for the unvaccinated.
A global trend
The figures from New York come as other cities report the impact of COVID-19 on the world of work.
In Toronto’s Financial District, for example, daily worker visits are down 77% on 2019 numbers, according to new research from the Toronto Region Board of Trade (TRBOT). While this contrasts to the whole of downtown Toronto, where worker visits are only down by 34%, the numbers are dramatic.
“A more complete recovery [from COVID-19] first requires workers and visitors to have confidence in public health measures,” Jan De Silva, the President of TRBOT, has said. “This is the only way to compel them to return to our city centres at pre-pandemic levels.”
Meanwhile, in India, 50% of employees in IT are expected to return to the office three days a week by January 2022, according to a poll by Indeed and Nasscom.
The survey of 150 tech organisations and 6,000 employees in the country found that 70% of IT firms are looking at a hybrid working model in 2022.
81% said that employee health and safety remains the key consideration in the return to work.
While 66% of the workforce reported greater satisfaction from working from home, they voiced many reasons why they would return to work—including better infrastructure and hardware, organisational culture, and fewer distractions.
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