Home office certainly took on a new meaning in 2020. And by the looks of recent surveying, many would like to keep it that way.
Kastle’s weekly occupancy report for the top 10 metro areas in the U.S. shows that just 32.1 percent of employees returned to their offices last week. That’s a slight increase of 0.6 percent week-to-week, with Austin leading the charge at 50.3 percent occupancy.
Locally, Los Angeles comes in at 25.6 percent occupancy, a minimal decline from the week prior. San Francisco continues to have the lowest office occupancy rate in the top 10, with just 18.7 percent returns. San Jose is close behind with 20.8 percent.
With so many still working remote, moving is a more realistic prospect than ever before. A recent survey by InMyArea.com found that of 541 unmarried people under the age of 35 surveyed, nearly half were planning to move in 2021. Another 21 percent said they were unsure. The most common reasons to move were a change of pace, improve mental health and to save money.
Job opportunities, remote work convenience and access to nature and outdoor spaces were also top on the wishlists of remote workers, per the study.
Big cities still remain the largest draw. As the study found, remote workers are still more interested in urban areas, with 32 percent interested in moving to large cities, while 27 percent are interested in the suburbs. Only 27 percent said they were interested in a small town, while 14 percent said they were interested in moving to a rural area.