In an interview with KCBS radio station this week, Bloomberg reporter Heather Landy stated that based on data from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), “more and more large American companies are shifting towards a policy of fully working in the office,” while remote and hybrid work models are becoming “increasingly less common” as choices.
Jones Lang LaSalle is a large international commercial real estate and investment management company, providing various services including office leasing, property management, and investment consulting, with operations in many countries and regions, known for its use of technology in the real estate industry.
The pandemic in 2020 forced the American workforce to adopt remote and hybrid work models, unexpectedly giving employees greater job flexibility while reducing companies’ office space and expenses. However, as the pandemic fades from people’s memory, some business leaders are beginning to support a return to traditional face-to-face work models.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg citing data from Jones Lang LaSalle on workplace trends, only 41% of the largest 100 companies in the U.S. offer hybrid scheduling.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy required Amazon employees to return to the office five days a week starting January 2nd this year, replacing the previous policy of working in the office at least three days a week, aiming to strengthen company culture, improve collaboration, and encourage innovation.
With employees of large corporations returning rapidly, the demand for office space is increasing, leading to higher office building rents and rising prices for office supplies.
Landy noted that “the demand for truly high-quality or premium office space will definitely increase, and this is also reflected in the premium property rents we are seeing in cities like New York, San Francisco, Miami, and other major cities.”
She also mentioned that “we have heard of individual companies calling employees back to the office only to find out there aren’t enough desks and having to scramble to accommodate.”
However, she also pointed out that while face-to-face work may be a trend for Fortune 100 companies, hybrid work models will still exist. She said, “After all, the Fortune 100 are just the largest 100 companies, while the majority of our economic system is made up of much smaller companies where hybrid work models remain very common.”
According to CommercialCafe, as of June, the office vacancy rate in the United States was 19.4%, an increase of 130 basis points compared to the same period last year. The average listing price for office space in the U.S. was $32.87 per square foot, representing a 3.8% year-over-year increase.
(Reference: Audacy report)