Just 8% Of Manhattan Workers Are Back To Offices Full Time: Poll

NEW YORK CITY — Manhattan’s canyons of office buildings are largely empty and could remain so even after the coronavirus pandemic ends, a new poll found.

Just 8 percent of Manhattan’s one million office workers are going back to their workplaces five days a week, according to a poll released Monday by the Partnership For New York City. And 38 percent are in the workplace on an average workday, the poll indicates.

The results from the business group’s survey of 160 major employers strongly hint the pandemic likely will permanently reshape how office workers go to work.

“Remote work is here to stay, with 78% of employers indicating a hybrid office model will be their predominant post-pandemic policy, up from just 6% pre-pandemic,” the survey states.

The exodus from office buildings and rise of remote work has prompted concern from some city officials, especially Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams has argued that fully reopening offices is vital for the city’s recovery, as it will help low-income New Yorkers whose livelihoods are tied to those workplaces. He also denigrated remote work and said “you can’t stay home in your pajamas all day,” Business Insider reported.

And businesses have made some slow steps to return to offices.

The poll found that 49 percent of office workers are expected to return to their workplaces after Labor Day. Of those businesses surveyed, 91 percent of employers are encouraging workers to return to office and 64 percent are offering at least one incentive to do so.