Office comebacks surge nationally in July, but not in Chicago
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The Weber Shandwick offices in the Merchandise Mart. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios
July was the best month for employees returning to the office since the pandemic, but Chicago still lags behind the national average, according to a new monthly report.
Why it matters: Return-to-office is a priority for Mayor Brandon Johnson and the business community, hoping to lure workers back downtown to boost economic activity.
By the numbers: The national return-to-office average has reached its highest level since the pandemic, but remains 22% behind 2019 rates.
- New York City led the charge in July with office visits surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Miami is also back to pre-pandemic levels.
Reality check: Chicago is way behind those cities (34.5%), but has seen drastic improvement year over year. Last July, Chicago's return-to-office data was almost 10% lower.
Zoom in: Many Chicago businesses have stopped short of full return mandates, settling on hybrid schedules to give employees flexibility. They've also invested in renovations and new office spaces, while creating amenities like supersized kitchens with free coffee and snacks.
- Take Weber Shandwick, whose fancy new digs opened last year at the Merchandise Mart with a visit from Johnson. The strategic communication and consulting company has hundreds of employees in its local office.
What they're saying: "If you want people to come somewhere, they have to feel like they were part of designing and architecting it," Weber Shandwick's Sheila Mulligan tells Axios.
- Mulligan said the company consulted with employees to create better public and private workspaces, leaning into stylish design furniture options instead of the basic office floor plans of the past.
- It also helps that the relocation takes employees from the sluggish Mag Mile to the bustling Merchandise Mart with neighboring offices, a food court, Chicago River views and a built-in train station.
Yes, but: Even though the Merchandise Mart has been a tech hub for years, it is still over 20% vacant. Last week, owners signaled they are selling the building.
- The River North neighborhood is also seeing record-high office vacancies.
Between the lines: Weber Shandwick's goal isn't to force workers back to the office full-time, but to rethink the way they work as productivity shifts with more of the actual work happening virtually.
- "We're probably never going to be in this space five days a week, but on the days that we are here, we want to make it work as hard as possible for us," Mulligan said.
The bottom line: With the data trending towards workers returning to the office, Chicago companies are rethinking what that looks and feels like.