Half Of Manhattan Workers Are Back In Offices, Study Finds

NEW YORK CITY — More and more Manhattan office workers now have at least one day where they absolutely cannot wear pajamas, a new study found.

Roughly half — 52 percent — of Manhattan’s workers were in the office during the average workday as of late January, according to a Partnership for New York City survey.

That number stood at 49 percent in September, another survey by the group found.

Still, the survey released Thursday strongly indicates that the coronavirus pandemic will make a lasting impact on how office employees work in the city, with hybrid schedules becoming the norm.

“Return to office rates are approaching employers’ expected ‘new normal’ occupancy rates of 56%,” the study states.

“Consistent with past surveys, 82% of employers indicated a hybrid office schedule will be their predominant policy in 2023.”

The pandemic emptied out Manhattan’s office buildings and shifted scores of employees to remote work.

But as coronavirus restrictions lifted, only a relative handful of workers returned to offices.

The office exodus worried many city officials, particularly Mayor Eric Adams, who warned of effects on the city’s larger economy as low-income New Yorkers often work service jobs tied to those workplaces. He then added insult to injury by saying “you can't stay home in your pajamas all day,” Business Insider reported.

It turns out, however, that many workers — and their employers — found they can.

The survey found only 9 percent of workers are back at the office five days a week — a number that’s unchanged from September.

The number of fully remote workers did tick down from 16 percent in September to 10 percent in January, according to the study.

Most offices, however, will stick with a hybrid model of remote work and in-office days, the study found. Forty percent of businesses expect workers to be in the office three days a week, according to the study.

Read the full Partnership for New York City study here.