Companies across the country are preparing to bring their workers back to the office, whether in small groups or larger waves. But how close are these companies to being ready to shift their workforce from COVID-19-forced work-from-home arrangements back to in-office work?
JLL’s St. Louis branch addressed this question in a recent survey of employees at 103 offices across the St. Louis region. And the results? Companies are eager to see their employees return. But many are still working on the safety plans necessary to make this transition.
According to JLL’s survey, 51 percent of employees surveyed said that their companies have specific plans and a set date for their workers to return to the office. The survey found that 19 percent have started to make plans but have not yet set a return date. A surprising 13 percent of employees told JLL that their offices were never closed.
Respondents said that some companies that do not have a set return date are relying on specific COVID-19 metrics to reopen their offices or are waiting for further guidance from national or local government agencies.
St. Louis City and St. Louis County both agreed that non-essential businesses were allowed to reopen on May 18. That hasn’t meant, though, that all offices have opened their doors back up to employees. And it seems that larger companies are being more cautious than smaller ones. JLL’s survey found that 55 percent of companies with more than 50 employees have yet to set a return date for their workers.
