While the return-to-the-office trend is felt across the country, the percentage of employees moving back to their offices varies significantly according to geography, according to Eptura’s Q3 Workplace Index.
The business software company’s most recent study compared the numbers of third quarter office desk bookings in 2022 to those tallied in 2023. The findings:
- Dallas desk bookings grew 72%
- New York City desk bookings grew 58%
- Chicago desk bookings grew 52%
- San Francisco desk bookings grew 26%
Office occupancy is top of mind for many CEOs, with 74% of operational leaders reporting to their CEOs on occupancy metrics at least quarterly and 40% reporting to CEOs monthly. When asked what would make them want to use their workplace more, employees cited more opportunities for socialization and better technology. The top three most selected responses were:
- More social areas such as cafes and outdoor spaces at 45%
- Better technology like collaboration and scheduling software at 38%
- More recreational areas like pool tables and table football at 34%
The survey also found that many organizations are adopting automation to enhance efficiency. The top uses for building systems automation were:
- Lighting control to reduce energy consumption (87%)
- Security systems to monitor and control access (83%)
- HVAC systems to monitor temperatures and reduce energy costs (83%)
- Fire and life safety systems to detect and respond to emergencies (74%)
Related Stories
Engineers | Nov 27, 2023
Kimley-Horn eliminates the guesswork of electric vehicle charger site selection
Private businesses and governments can now choose their new electric vehicle (EV) charger locations with data-driven precision. Kimley-Horn, the national engineering, planning, and design consulting firm, today launched TREDLite EV, a cloud-based tool that helps organizations develop and optimize their EV charger deployment strategies based on the organization’s unique priorities.
Office Buildings | Nov 10, 2023
3 important early considerations for office-to-residential conversions
Scott Campagna, PE, Senior Director of Housing, IMEG Corp, shares insights from experts on office-to-residential conversion issues that may be mitigated when dealt with early.
Laboratories | Nov 8, 2023
Boston’s FORUM building to support cutting-edge life sciences research and development
Global real estate companies Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge recently announced the topping-out of FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-sf life science building in Boston. Located in Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community, the $545 million project will achieve operational net zero carbon upon completion in 2024.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 100 Government Building Construction Firms for 2023
Hensel Phelps, Turner Construction, Clark Group, Fluor, and BL Harbert top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 90 Government Building Engineering Firms for 2023
Fluor, Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 170 Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Gensler, Stantec, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest government building sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Office Buildings | Nov 2, 2023
Amazon’s second headquarters completes its first buildings: a pair of 22-story towers
Amazon has completed construction of the first two buildings of its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Va. The all-electric structures, featuring low carbon concrete and mass timber, help further the company’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and 100% renewable energy consumption by 2030. Designed by ZGF Architects, the two 22-story buildings are on track to become the largest LEED v4 Platinum buildings in the U.S.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 1, 2023
Biden Administration reveals plan to spur more office-to-residential conversions
The Biden Administration recently announced plans to encourage more office buildings to be converted to residential use. The plan includes using federal money to lend to developers for conversion projects and selling government property that is suitable for conversions.
Office Buildings | Oct 30, 2023
Find Your 30: Creating a unique sense of place in the workplace while emphasizing brand identity
Finding Your 30 gives each office a sense of autonomy, and it allows for bigger and broader concepts that emphasize distinctive cultural, historic or other similar attributes.
Biophilic Design | Oct 29, 2023
Natural wood floors create biophilic experience in Austrian headquarters office
100% environmentally friendly natural wood floors from mafi add to the biophilic setting of a beverage company office in Upper Austria.
