Occupancy Index - February 1, 2022

OMICRON VARIANT

A voluntary return to the office, during the second half of January, resulted in a slight increase in the Index. The Province has started to relax restrictions meant to slow the spread of Omicron. This should have an impact on the February 15th Index. Overall, employers are still unprepared to provide firm dates on return-to-work strategies.

The use of transit remains a key roadblock for many office workers in the downtown core. SRRA conducted a limited study of the return to the office in the 905 and found a higher level of voluntary in office workers. More on this in the next Index. Stay safe, your SRRA Team.

Links to Articles of Interest

Dig beneath the headlines! 

Hot desking (hoteling) was originally designed as a cost-saving measure for accounting firms and the like whose staff spent lots of time at the offices of clients but this article provides examples of some bumps in the road that show up when the concept is applied more generally

Dramatic shifts in travel patterns caused by COVID forcing the TTC to re-think its revenue tools?

News flash! Younger workers need places to live when they leave home.

New York governor challenges workers to return to the office, dismissing concerns about safety, showing support for restaurants and other businesses that depend on office workers to thrive

And now for something completely different. Tired of reading about the impact of the pandemic? Try the report cited in this link which explores why people get passionate and protective about their cities. We talk a lot about the importance of ‘place,’ but this takes the concept to a new level

Boston Consulting Group regularly surveys Australian businesses to plot changes in hopes and expectations regarding the future of work and changes in the workplace. The latest such survey “uncovered a disparity between what employees want and what employers think they want.” Check out this link to see their full report which tracks changing ‘sentiments’ over three waves of COVID

  “The Occupancy Index is supported by the City of Toronto, Financial District BIA, Bloor-Yorkville BIA, The Waterfront BIA, Downtown Yonge BIA, St Lawrence Market BIA and Toronto Entertainment District BIA. It is a measure of the percentage of office employees returning to the office compared to the number of employees who would normally have come to their offices pre-COVID. For a detailed description of the calculation please contact Iain Dobson at [email protected],”