The Post-Labor Day push for a return to the office is heating up by at least one measure. WeWork announced its busiest four-day stretch of the year in the week after September 5th, as bookings by all-access and on-demand members spiked by 20 percent compared to the weekly average of the company’s 700 worldwide locations. WeWork reports that global keycard swipes surged more than 70 percent compared to the same week in 2021.
Peter Greenspan, WeWork’s global head of real estate, said the return to the office may be for real this time. “This September feels more like the real return to the office that has been touted for two and a half years now,” Greenspan said. “This data, at least to us, indicates that this is a stronger return to the office than the previous ones.”
Some of the world’s largest companies, like Apple and Goldman Sachs, continue to push for a fuller return to the office, and many chose Labor Day as a prime date for getting employees back. The insistence on a return to the office may be having an effect, as office occupancy in 10 major cities was 47.4 percent of pre-pandemic levels for the week of September 8-14, according to Kastle Systems. That number is a new high since the pandemic started, and some metro areas fared especially well. New York City office occupancy levels during that period jumped from 38.6 percent to 46.6 percent. The jump in occupancy rates could be temporary, but it’s still a much-needed sign of life and good news for office owners.