If given the option, 53 percent of Californian’s polled in a new survey by the University of Southern California and the California Emerging Technology Fund would prefer to work from home part time or full time in the future. Only 18 percent of respondents said they would like to return to the office full time.
Researchers note that telecommuting rises with income. Only 32 percent in the lowest income group earning under $59,999 reported working from home, while more than 60 percent of respondents earning $60,000-$99,999 work from home. Of those in the top income bracket, 73 percent reported working from home either full or part time.
The findings come as the L.A. Times reports that left than one in four workers have returned to the office following pandemic closures. On average, some 25 percent of employees in 10 major U.S. cities were back in the office as of April 14, up nearly two percentage points from the week before, according to Kastle Systems, which provides key-card entry systems used by many companies.
Los Angeles is slightly behind the national average, with 23.4 percent of workers back in office. Of the 10 major markets tracked by Kastle, San Francisco has the lowest return rates, with 14.2 percent as of April 14.
Per the L.A. Times, non-rented office space in Los Angeles County reached 17.2 percent in the first quarter of 2021. That marks the highest vacancy level since early 2012, CBRE reported, reflecting a net loss of 1.6 million square feet of leased space, nearly matching the worst quarterly loss during the Great Recession.