Return to Office Reaches 76% of Pre-Pandemic Conditions; 1 in 4 Employers Plan to Increase Office Attendance Requirements
March 31, 2025
The Partnership for New York City surveyed more than 125 major Manhattan office employers between March 5 and March 20, 2025, to gauge the extent to which employees have returned to the office or are still working remotely.
Employers indicate that 57% of Manhattan office workers are at their workplace on an average weekday, which equates to 76% of respondents’ pre-pandemic attendance. The Partnership’s May 2024 survey found that office attendance was 72% of pre-pandemic conditions.
While 75% of employers say their current policy is their “new normal,” the remaining 25% plan to increase office attendance requirements over the next 12 months, suggesting office attendance should continue to increase.
The Partnership survey of employers found:
57% of Manhattan office workers are in the workplace on an average weekday as of mid-March.
10% of Manhattan office workers are currently in the office full time (five days a week)
26% are in four days per week
30% are in three days per week
16% are in two days per week
9% are in one day per week
8% of Manhattan office workers are fully remote
The real estate industry has the highest average daily attendance (85%), followed by financial services (62%) and law (62%).
Industry | March 2025 | Pre-pandemic | March 2025 relative to pre-pandemic |
|---|---|---|---|
Real estate | 85% | 96% | 89% |
Financial services | 62% | 80% | 78% |
Law | 62% | 80% | 78% |
Tech | 63% | 84% | 75% |
Media | 45% | 72% | 63% |
All industries | 57% | 75% | 76% |
Pre- and post-pandemic, large firms have lower office occupancy than smaller firms.
Among firms with more than 5,000 employees, 46% of employees are currently in the office on the average weekday, compared to 67% of employees among companies with fewer than 500 employees.
Larger employers also tended to have lower in-office rates pre-pandemic. As a result, current office attendance is 78% of pre-pandemic conditions at companies with more than 5,000 employees, compared to 73% among firms with fewer than 500 employees.
Hybrid remains the most popular model and three-fourths of employers have implemented their “new normal” office policy.
69% of employers have a hybrid office policy, 21% have a combination of roles that are hybrid, remote, and in the office five days a week depending on the job function, and 10% require daily attendance.
75% of employers say they have instituted their “new normal” office policy and have no plans to change their office attendance requirements over the next 12 months. The remaining 25% of companies indicate they will increase office attendance requirements over the next year.
