US Offices See Highest Occupancy In Oct

USA – There were more workers in their offices in October compared to any other month since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported TechRepublic on Thursday evening (19 November, SGT).

Based on Robin’s latest Return to Office report for October, foot traffic in office spaces across the United States rose by 19 percent last month. In particular, employees in New York City and Boston returned at the fastest pace, rising by 22 percent and 34 percent respectively.

Moreover, conference rooms across the US were busier last month as such workspaces reported a 6 percent uptick in bookings. However, the return rate of 19 percent in October was lower than the 26 percent witnessed in September. The report also discovered that Monday was the least popular day to be in the office.

However, Robin has forecasted that foot traffic in US office spaces would decline in November and December due to the upcoming holidays. In fact, there were fewer people in their workspace in August because of end-of-summer vacation plans.

By sector, the number of staff in the office of media and telecom firms more than doubled last month. Conversely, that in real estate companies and healthcare fell by 15 percent and 50 percent respectively. Robin attributes this to the expansion of vaccine mandates and the growing burnout among healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, a separate study of 1,500 IT business leaders shows that 83 percent of them think that 25 percent of their office space will remain hybrid post-pandemic, up from just 30 percent last year. 42 percent of the respondents believe that the majority of the workplace will be hybrid after the virus outbreak is over.

Furthermore, IT executives consider hybrid work arrangement as a crucial tool in remaining competitive and attracting talented workers. The majority of the respondents also believe that such work set-up will have a good effect on society.