Office Buildings Are Still Half-Empty

More than three years after the COVID Lockdown began and employees began working from home, the sentiment among CEOs about remote working has become increasingly negative. Almost every CEO I know is nudging (if not demanding) employees to resume five-day-a-week office hours. But they are telling me that even their best employees are resisting.

When I wrote about this issue on August 12, I predicted that, except for some obvious jobs that require physical presence (the service industry, retail, and much of manufacturing), most workers would resist going back to the old routine. But employers have been increasing the pressure, offering rewards and penalties – in some cases, making full-time, in-office work mandatory. This last weekend, I had a conversation with one of my nieces and her husband, who work in NYC and are facing this pressure from their employers. They say they are willing to make concessions, but they won’t return to their pre-COVID office hours.

Despite the widespread resistance, the WSJ reports that in mid-September, return-to-office rates were at their highest level since the onset of the pandemic. And yet, office buildings in the city are still half-empty.

It’s too early to know for sure, but I’m still betting that the new get-tough measures will not get more than half of the office desks and cubicles occupied with flesh-and-blood people. Which is why I continue to have confidence in my decision to cancel my plans to build a large office building in my hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.

But there is some good news for office landlords. Click here.