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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Class A+ Occupancy
The end of the Federal Government shutdown had little impact on workers in class A+ buildings this past week. Average occupancy went up a point, to 78.8% (similar to the 1.1 point increase in all buildings). Maximum occupancy (Tuesday) actually fell a point in A+ buildings, to 95%. Tuesday occupancy in all buildings rose 1.3 points, to 65.3%, continuing to trail the A+ class.
Peak Day
Peak day office occupancy in Washington, D.C. jumped more than 8 points the Monday after the end of the federal government shutdown, to 52.1% for that day. Chicago experienced a 9.1 point bump that Monday, to 52.7%. While Washington, D.C. continued to experience increased occupancy over subsequent days, driving its average for the week to a record high 55.1%, in Chicago subsequent days were more or less flat, so that its weekly average rose 2.4 points to a high, but less than their record of 59.3%.
Weekly Average
Workers came to the office in record numbers again this past week, with the 10 City Back Work Barometer rising 1.1 points, to 55.8%, matching the post-pandemic record high set in mid September. Six of 10 cities experienced increased occupancy, especially Washington, D.C., where the end of the government shutdown resulted in a more than 5 point increases, to 55.1%, a record high for that city. Chicago experienced a 2.4 point increase, to 59.3%. Cities which experienced decreasing occupancy saw their numbers decline by only fractional percents; San Francisco lost the most, dropping half a point to 41.7%.
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 have tracked and published U.S. office occupancy status in Kastle-secured commercial properties since the beginning of the Covid crisis in early 2020. We continue to seek to help 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 businesses understand how average workplaces are being attended weekly, monthly, and annually.
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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