Bosses wanting to get their staff back to their office desks have a clear ally: promotion-hungry millennials and incoming Gen Zers wanting to learn the ropes. And according to a new report, it’s older staff who have already made their money that are resistant to returning.
Property analytics company Placer.ai published its Return to Office white paper this week, which found that foot traffic has reached approximately 70% of pre-COVID levels in cities including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Since August 2023 the rising occupancy figures have faltered somewhat, and as of January 2024 sat at about 36% below pre-pandemic occupancy levels.
Much to the chagrin of stakeholders who have demanded staff get back to their desks full-time, Placer.ai’s findings actually paint a busier picture of offices than other datasets. Security experts Kastle Systems, for example, publishes a weekly occupancy barometer from across its 2,600 buildings in 138 cities and currently shows a reading of only 52%.
The data suggests that a more blended, hybrid approach to work—which has been quietly adopted by many—is the new normal. However, from the analysis Placer.ai carried out of 1,000 buildings across the U.S., it seems some staff are keener on a heavier office requirement than others.
It’s perhaps understandable that the report found those with more cash—and time—were happier to spend a greater portion of their week in the office. The report defines this group as “Educated Urbanites,” a segment of affluent, educated singles between the ages of 24 and 35 living in urban areas.
“Analyzing the trade areas of offices across major markets shows that—while parents were somewhat less likely to visit office buildings in 2023 than in 2019—affluent young professionals are making in-person attendance a priority,” the report reads. “Indeed, in 2023, the share of ‘Educated Urbanites’ in offices’ captured markets exceeded pre-COVID levels in most analyzed cities.”
The paper reasons: “For younger employees in particular, fully remote work can come at a significant cost. A lot of learning takes place at the water cooler—and informal interactions with more experienced colleagues can be critical for professional development. Out of sight can also equal out of mind, making it more difficult for younger workers that don’t develop personal bonds with their coworkers and to potentially take other steps to advance their careers.”
Wealthy Gen Xers have done their time
At the other end of the spectrum, Gen Xers appear to have mixed views about returning to their desks.
While Placer.ai found “Ultrawealthy Families”—a segment consisting of affluent Gen Xers between the ages of 45 and 54—are, on average, back in the office on a near pre-pandemic basis, this varied between cities.
In 2019, this segment made up 13.3% of the Nationwide Office Index’s captured market, and fell to 13% by 2023. This is seemingly a minor drop, but the average smooths out significant variations between cities. A drop was most pronounced in particularly wealthy metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C. (22.4% down to 20.9%), New York (13.6% down to 12.6%), and San Francisco (19.5% down to 18.7%).
Of course, this metric looks specifically at rich Gen Xers as opposed to the generation as a whole, and this is where the reason for the shift may become clear. The report reads: “Workers belonging to this demographic tend to be more established in their careers, and may be less likely to be caring for small children.
“Well-to-do Gen Xers may also be more likely to be executives, called back to the office to lead by example. But employees belonging to this segment may consider the return to in-person work to be a choice rather than a necessity, which could explain this cohort’s more varied pace of RTO.”
As Ethan Chernofsky, SVP of marketing at Placer.ai, tells Fortune: “There is clearly a staying power to hybrid work, which shows that people value the newfound flexibility that the pandemic triggered. The question is where and when that orientation to flexibility appears.
“Midweek visits are seeing much stronger visit proportions than pre-pandemic, while Mondays and Fridays are seeing less. All this shows a very clear correlation with the decisions on when and how often to visit the office with clear benefits to an employee’s personal life.”
And this generation may well be the driving force behind work trends in the coming years. According to an exclusive Harris Poll survey with Fortune, most generations in the workplace believe they have the most power—however Gen Xers are the most convinced of it.
A whopping 81% of Gen Xers think their group is in control, 70% of millennials think they are, and 54% of Gen Zers think it’s them. Boomers are the only group where less than half (46%) said the same about their generation.
Amy Mulvey, senior research manager at the Harris Poll, told Fortune Gen X are in a prime place to know what people want and influence others, as they communicate with more senior and junior employees while in middle manager positions. She added: “While they are sometimes overlooked in the generational narratives we tend to see, Gen X is likely quietly shifting what the future of the workplace looks like.”
