As society finally starts to return to normal for most aspects of public life---concerts, sporting events, restaurants, movie theaters, air travel---one area is dragging behind. Workplaces are still far below pre-pandemic capacity. A recent report shows offices are only at 33% of 2019 levels, while other locations are between 58% and 93% of pre-pandemic capacity.
Andy Challenger, vice president of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, has seen this phenomenon first-hand. "Life has returned to normal in a lot of areas of the economy, yet downtown office buildings remain largely empty," he tells KTRH. "The work-from-home trend absolutely persists, and part of that is due to the fact that we're still in a major labor shortage."
Because workers are in such high demand, companies are using hybrid and remote options to attract and keep employees. And many of those employees are demanding the option to work remotely. "Most employers I talk to would like to see it swing back a little bit in the other direction, toward people coming back to the office," says Challenger. "But for now that is a very difficult thing to achieve."
In the meantime, Challenger believes hybrid and remote work might just become the "new normal" we've heard so much about since the start of the pandemic. "Both sides like it," he says. "Employees are happier, and companies are able to reduce some of their costs associated with property and office space."
Indeed, many companies are already downsizing or rethinking their office space. "We haven't seen any catastrophic crash in downtown real estate markets yet," says Challenger. "But that might come as companies see that they're not going to need as much space, and they start to really reduce their footprints."