Companies Keep Pushing For Office Presence...And It’s Working

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The post-pandemic push to return to the office is quietly gaining traction, with office utilization climbing to 63.7% as companies sweeten the deal with higher pay, hybrid schedules, and luxurious workplace perks—proving the battle for in-person work isn’t over yet. Plus, some multifamily developers are offering the unique perk of onsite medical services.

Now, let’s dig in!

Companies Keep Pushing for Office Presence…And It’s Working

Labor Day was a frequently cited milestone in the early days of the post-pandemic return to the office push. Companies would alert employees that after Labor Day, they’d be getting tough on returning them to their desks.

It’s been nearly five years since all that talk began, and you don’t hear about the post-Labor Day push to the office as much. However, new data from commercial real estate firm Avison Young’s Office Busyness Index shows those five years of in-office mandates have worked to a large extent.

Before the pandemic in September 2019, office utilization, as tracked by Avison Young’s Office Busyness Index, was at 97.9 percent. From a low of 18.4 percent in September 2020, it has increased to 63.7 percent in July 2024. That’s a 45.3 percent increase, proving that the average office in the U.S. is the busiest it has been since COVID-19 sparked widespread remote work.

There are various reasons why office utilization continues to trend upward. Employers have made offices more of a ‘destination,’ with some offering lavish hospitality-like amenities to lure employees back. Many employees prefer remote work, but some surveys show that the loneliness of remote work causes more people to think that being back in the office isn’t that bad after all.

Another potential factor is that full-time in-office workers are being paid more. According to ZipRecruiter's internal data on worker salaries, employees with jobs entirely done in the office were paid, on average, roughly $82,000 in March, up from 38 percent last year. In comparison, remote workers were paid approximately $75,000, an increase of just nine percent from last year.

Perhaps the most significant factor driving office utilization upward is that many CEOs still simply prefer having employees in the office. Many workers have resisted, but companies' persistence is paying off. Hybrid schedules may be the new norm for now, and office utilization rates vary by market, but the return to the office battle is something many firms may never give up on, and it’s starting to show in the data.

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