Per Worker Net Absorption Returning to Earlier Levels

Three years after the pandemic reached the U.S., many of the trends that it accelerated are switching back to the mean. E-commerce went on steroids as people hunkered in their homes; today it has reverted to pre-pandemic volumes. People fled from expensive, congested cities to more affordable locales that offered more space. Migration patterns are reversing now. Even remote work, although still a fixture in U.S. workplaces, is beginning to lessen or at least morph into hybrid schedules. 

Office leasing is another example, according to CBRE. For decades, absorption per office worker has trended down as companies went to more efficient open-plan layouts and allowed more staff to work remotely. During the pandemic, net absorption per office worker dropped below Global Financial Crisis levels to -6.3 square feet. Per-worker absorption bounced back however in late 2021, then fell again due to rising interest rates, economic clouds overhead and lower payrolls, mostly in finance and tech sectors.

The CBRE report projects that per-worker absorption will not return to late 1990s levels soon, because of remote work trends. But it does expect it to revert to the long-term trendline in a range of 1 to 2 square feet per worker as economic conditions improve and better work balance occurs with what companies and their workers each want. And in 2024, it may turn positive, according to another GlobeSt.com report.