Survey: Workers Showing More Interest in Returning to Office
More collaboration with co-workers cited as reason for rising return-to-office rates February 21, 2024
By Dave Lubach, Executive Editor
As the workplace continues to change for institutional and commercial facilities, managers and building owners continue trying to adjust to the latest office trends for employees.
In its 2023 workplace index survey, global worktech company Eptura found that American office workers are increasing their visits to the office.
A survey of 16,000 businesses across the world showed that office workers in North and South American office workers are returning to the office at an increase of 40 percent, based on desk bookings. That statistic coincides with the trend that shows more people are increasing their number of visits to the office per week to collaborate with co-workers on other tasks, giving facility managers and building owners more challenges to best determine how to use available space.
Other trends that the survey revealed:
- 30-40 percent of employees book desks the day before, or the day they are going to the office.
- Office workers prefer working in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- Offices are still relying too heavily on reactive maintenance, which from the companies surveyed was at a 50:50 ratio for reactive vs. preventive maintenance, well off an ideal ratio of 80:20.
- Even with more returnees to the office, many desks remain unutilized in offices across the country, giving maintenance managers an opportunity to shift their operations more into a preventive than reactive maintenance mode.
- Improved space utilization can help facilities reduce their carbon emissions through more efficient space management.
A link to the study can be found here.
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the facility market.
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