NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — For the first time in months, there are some optimistic signs from a survey of Manhattan’s business leaders about when workers will be returning to New York City’s office spaces.
Over the last 14 months, the goal of getting workers back to their offices has been a bit of a moving target. Many have tried to predict when Manhattan’s big companies might start bringing workers back, but there seems to be more certainty now.
“The vaccine has really calmed people's health fears about coming back to the office,” says Kathryn Wylde, of the Partnership for New York City.
She says their latest survey is promising, showing that 62% of Manhattan’s office workers are expected to be back by September 2021.
Wylde notes that would be a “37% increase since March.”
However, it’s not likely that workers will return to their offices full-time right away.
“Employers think that they'll start coming back three days a week. Some people have kids at home, so they want to make sure schools are going to be open [and] that they have childcare,” said Wylde. “They're going to encourage them to come back. They're not going to force people back, for the most part.”
Wylde said that most employers understand workers' hesitancy.
“People are nervous especially if they haven't been living in the city,” she said.
However, she doesn't think the hybrid model will become the new normal.
"We think there's an impact on the culture, on the training, on the teamwork, that people will really need to be back in the office,” she explains.
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