Texas Cities Lead Nation in Workers Returning to the Office

By Steve Brown, The Dallas Morning News.
(via TNS)

A greater percentage of workers in Texas’ major metro areas are back in the office compared to other U.S. markets.

But more than three years after the pandemic sent employees home, office businesses are still struggling to get everyone back at their desks.

Austin, Houston and Dallas lead the country in the share of workers back in the building, according to a new report from commercial property firm Transwestern. But on average, only about 54% of North Texas office workers have returned.

On some days the share of Dallas office workers in their buildings is almost 60%.

“Only Austin and nearby Houston have been able to crack the 60% barrier in any given week,” the analysts found.

About 46% of employees are in “hybrid” offices — a combination of working in the building and at home. Only about 34% are working fully on site.

“Although vacancy is climbing as companies shed unneeded space with work from home, long-term job growth in D-FW will allow the number of employees in office buildings to rebound and exceed pre-pandemic levels in the next cycle,” Andrew Matheny, research manager in Transwestern’s Dallas office said.

D-FW office-using jobs are 20% above pre-pandemic levels, he said. “Some of the other larger markets didn’t recover until last year.”

Companies in technology, media and insurance are offering their workers the most flexibility, Transwestern found.

While office building owners are adding a growing array of amenities to lure workers back from home, pickleball courts and patios aren’t the main reason workers are heading to the office. The opportunity to focus more on work, access technology and hold in-person meetings are the chief reasons office employees say they’re going back to their buildings.

Access to amenities was dead last with less than a quarter of workers describing it as important to their return. The most wanted amenity for most workers is a coffee shop.

“Based on current assumptions and projections, most major U.S. markets will take more than 10 years to get back to the full pre-pandemic in-office headcount,” according to Transwestern’s report.

Dallas-Fort Worth’s in-office share is forecast to be at 108% of pre-pandemic levels by 2033.