Office Utilization Rises to 40%

The New York Times recently published an article on the problems companies are facing in setting a return-to-office (RTO) date.

  • Building security firm, Kastle Systems, reported office occupancy rose in November to 40% from 33%.
  • Express Employment Professionals, with 300 employees in Oklahoma City, has remodeled its offices for a RTO on Jan. 15, 2022.

However, many companies are now deciding not to decide on a hard RTO date as employees need more certainty to plan ahead.

  • Apple, Ford, CNN and Google all announced postponements in their RTO Plans (Return To Office).
  • Qualtics, a Utah software company with 5,000 employees, planned a September 2021 RTO but has now joined the ranks of those deciding not to decide.
  • Lyft said the earliest workers would be required to return to the office is 2023.
  • A non-profit in New York City with 25,000 square feet in TriBeCa reopened but most employees stayed away. In March 2022 the non-profit will terminate its lease.