As most cities have begun their phased re-openings, many employees are slowly returning to their offices. But just how quickly are people returning to their daily lives? Kastle Systems, a managed security services provider to commercial businesses, has released anonymous data from their properties in 10 major U.S. cities to better help understand occupancy patterns in light of COVID-19.
In March, when coronavirus caused many people to shelter in place and work from home full time, occupancy rates plummeted across the country. In the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, a sharp decline emerges in the early days of March in both San Francisco and New York City. Cities such as Dallas and Philadelphia started to see a decline in mid-March. The data represents weekday swipes of Kastle access controls in 10 major cities.
Kastle Back to Work Barometer.
By the first week in April, Kastle Systems reports that by the first week of April, Washington D.C. had only a 14% occupancy rate. Back at the beginning of March, the occupancy rate was 96%.
The occupancy rates are starting to tick up with cities such as Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles leading in return rates. But some states are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases and how that will affect office reopenings remains unclear. Kastle CEO Haniel Lynn said one of the questions on everyone's mind is when it will be okay to go back to the office.
"We're keeping a close eye on trends in occupancy data as part of our KastleSafeSpaces framework, which is designed to help office buildings safely reopen," Lynn said. "As the uptick in occupancy continues, Kastle stands ready to help the safe transition happen."
That transition looks different for each office, but Unico Properties gave GlobeSt.com some insight on what it reopening looks like at US Bancorp Tower, which is the largest building office building in Portland, OR. Their reopening has included large, clear signage outlining measures such as social distancing. They removed all upholstered furniture and furniture in common areas and an increased focus on sanitizing high-touched surfaces.
Although many cities are returning back to work, JLL found that their clients that have worked on social distancing plans 49% reported that they're losing 50% capacity or more on their floors, according to previous GlobeSt.com reporting. Some companies, such as Twitter, are allowing their employees to work from home forever.
With all that is uncertain right now, the return to office life is going to look a lot different than it has in the past. In a prepared statement, Kastle said it will be releasing data weekly on its website and LinkedIn in order to help companies safely go back to their offices.
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