NY Fed Finds 48.8% of In-Office Workers Have No In-Person Meetings
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Nov 2
NY Fed Finds 48.8% of In-Office Workers Have No In-Person Meetings
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Nov 2
Summary
A September survey of 1,835 college-educated workers found nearly half of office-based employees still experience work as effectively remote, despite returning in person most of the time.
48.8% reported no in-person meetings on their most recent office day, 70.6% had at least one teammate absent, and 37% joined virtual meetings even though all participants were in the same office.
The researchers tied that disconnect to dispersed post-pandemic teams, weak enforcement of office mandates and workers skipping required days, leaving many to commute mainly for Zoom and Slack.
Separate Fortune 500 badge-swipe data and federal time-use data pointed the same way, showing many employees still lack face-to-face contact and spend more time physically alone at work than before Covid.
The authors said the pattern could worsen isolation and fuel resistance to return-to-office rules, arguing that mandates work better only if companies ensure enough colleagues are actually present.