Hybrid work patterns reveal occupancy varies throughout the week with Tuesdays typically being the highest day of the week and Fridays being the lowest. The chart below tracks Tuesday occupancy over time in ten cities and provides a new dimension to the weekly Barometer report. The Peak Day Hybrid Index will now be published weekly, offering a wider aperture into the full picture of workplace occupancy.
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Office Occupancy Rebounds Following Election Week Decline
Peak day office occupancy on Tuesday rebounded more than five full points from the prior week to 62.6%. In nine of the 10 tracked cities, occupancy was higher every day compared to last week.
In Washington, DC, Tuesday occupancy rose more than 12 points to 60%, nearing its record high. Houston, Dallas, and New York City all experienced post-pandemic record high single-day occupancies – 72.8% on Tuesday, 71.2% on Tuesday, and 66.8% on Wednesday, respectively. The average low was on Friday at 34%, up 1.4 points from last week.
The weekly average occupancy increased three points to 52.7%, according to the 10-city Back to Work Barometer, the highest it has been since its post-pandemic record of 53% in late January. Occupancy rose in all 10 tracked cities, with nine cities increasing more than a full point. Chicago and Washington, DC both rose more than five points, to 56.1% and 49.7%, respectively. Houston, Dallas, and New York City all reached record highs, up to 62.8%, 61.4%, and 55%, respectively.
Methodology
To provide some clarity on the issues facing American businesses, Kastle has been studying keycard, fob and KastlePresence app access data from the 2,600 buildings and 41,000 businesses we secure across 47 states. We’re analyzing the anonymized data to identify trends in how Americans are returning to the office.
We’re ready to continue helping companies navigate the ever-changing workplace landscape and adjust to the ‘new normal’ of office occupancy. Whether full-time hybrid or in-person, our commitment remains to helping American workers return safely to their office buildings. We have a comprehensive system in place that integrates technology and new safety protocols — both for the building and tenant spaces. We’re keeping a close eye on this data as part of our KastleSafeSpaces framework, which we designed to help office buildings throughout workplace transitions.
Kastle’s reach of buildings, businesses and cardholders secured generates millions of access events daily as users enter office complexes, and individual company workspaces. The Barometer weekly report summarizes access control data among our business partners in ten major metro areas, not a national statistical sample. Charted percentages reflect unique authorized user entries in each market relative to a pre-COVID baseline, averaged weekly.*
*On March 22, 2021, Kastle moved from daily to weekly data reporting to provide a more robust and comprehensive picture of office occupancy. We have also recalculated data back to the start of the time series for consistency. This has only a marginal impact on most cities and the national average.
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