Less than half of Manhattan workers have returned to office

NEW YORK - According to a new report, still less than half of all Manhattan workers have returned to the office.

The report by Partnership for New York City surveyed more than 160 major Manhattan office employers and found that 49% of office workers are currently at the workplace on an average weekday, up from just 38% in April. However, just 9% of employees are in the office five days a week.

The share of fully remote employees dropped from 28% in April to 16% by mid-September, and by June 2023, 54% of workers are expected to be in the office on an average weekday.

The survey found that 77% of employers intend to keep a hybrid office schedule post-pandemic, largely in response to employee preference. 

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The survey also asked employers what the biggest reasons why employees are unwilling to return to the office, and over a third responded that employees say productivity working from home equals or surpasses the office, while 24% cited that public transit in the city was not safe or reliable. 

Public transit in New York City is still well below pre-pandemic levels but recently hit a post-pandemic high this week with 3.7 million commuters riding the subways on Wednesday, the highest number since before the pandemic.