New Study from Partnership of New York City – Manhattan is Going Back to the Office

We’ve all heard the headlines about “office apocalypse” or “doom loop” about the NYC office space market, but it turns out these may be far from the truth. A recent study from Partnership for New York City found that 58% of Manhattan office workers are in the office on an average weekday, up from 49% in 2022. These may not be pre-covid numbers of 85%+, but they’re a majority and trending upwards. So much for office space being dead. 

The key takeaway from this data:  

On the employee side, there are double the amount of workers who are in full time vs. fully remote. Office attendance has increased across the board – larger companies with more than 5,000 employees have 57% of employees in the office on the average weekday (up from 49% from January 2023), while companies with fewer than 500 employees have 63% of employees in the office on the average weekday (up from 59% from January 2023).  

On the employer side, here’s what companies and decision makers are doing as a whole:  

• 52% of employers require employees to be in the office a certain number of days per week  
• 40% of employers require employees to be in the office on specific days 
• 7% of employers allow employees to come into the office as many days as they’d like 

What does this data tell us? NYC is on a clear trajectory for more in-office work as major market movers continue to announce return to office policies and many leaders express concerns about productivity, collaboration and innovation declines with remote work. And, like anyone who’s ever taken Econ 101, will tell you: increased demand for offices + fixed office space supply = higher prices on “the good stuff” and a higher likelihood you’ll lose the space if you wait. If you’re thinking about returning to the office in the next year, now is the time to start looking so you can secure a strong deal on the right space before the rush to return to the office.  

Why us? We only represent tenants, never landlords. That means that unlike the others, we have no allegiance to landlords – we'll give you an honest, objective overview of your space options and our recommended strategy, aggressively negotiate on your behalf with only your business and bottom line in mind and help secure the right space at the right price for you and your team.