Two thirds of the city’s office workers are likely to be back behind their desks by September, according to a new survey.
The Partnership for New York City said this week that employer expectations of how quickly office workers will return to Manhattan have jumped 37 percent since vaccination rates have risen.
And current projections are that 62 percent of workers will be back in September, most for three days a week.
Business travel has also resumed and will increase this summer, although at a significantly lower volume than pre-pandemic trips.
The Partnership survey of employers found that currently 12 percent of Manhattan office employees have returned to the workplace, up slightly from 10 percent in early March.
Employers expect that 29 percent of employees will have returned by the end of July 2021.
The survey found that the biggest hurdle to getting workers back into the city is concern over mass transit. 84 percent of employers say their staff is still concerned about personal safety during their commute.
The real estate industry itself has led the big return to work movement, with 70 percent of workers already back in their cubicles. Nearly all, 98 percent, are expect to be back to normal come September.
It’s closely followed by the financial services sector, which expects to have 61 percent of employees back in the office by the end of September.
Tech employers expect the fewest employees (40 percent) to return by the end of September, down from the 51 percent in the Partnership’s March survey.
The vast majority (71 percent) of employers plan to adopt a rotating or “hybrid” office schedule; of those employers implementing a hybrid model, most (63 percent) will require employees to be in the office three days per week.
One quarter of employers will require employees to be in the office full time; only four percent will not require employees to return to the office at all.
