Seattle employers embrace hybrid flexibility
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Seattle as seen from a ferry in Elliott Bay. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images
Seattle businesses and employers are embracing hybrid work while also encouraging people to return to the office for at least a few days a week, according to a survey by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Why it matters: Downtown Seattle has been slower to recover from the pandemic by some measures than many other U.S. cities, causing angst for some city and business leaders worrying about high office vacancies and the loss of foot traffic that supports downtown commerce.
Driving the news: The survey of 221 employers, conducted in April, sought to get a sense of how companies are shaping their decisions around return-to-office policies.
- According to the survey, only 4% of downtown Seattle companies that require three days or more in the office reported a negative reaction from employees.
- That may not be a complete picture, however. When Amazon announced that workers would be required to return to the office on May 1, 30,000 employees reportedly signed a petition opposing the mandate and on May 31 hundreds walked away from their jobs temporarily in protest.
Chamber president and CEO Rachel Smith said in a news release that companies located downtown have a higher rate of hybrid adoption, 83%, compared to 69% outside the core.
- Returning to the office is common, the survey showed, with 91% of remote-capable businesses in downtown Seattle reporting that their employees come into the office and 62% reporting that workers come in at least three days a week.
- Twice as many employers report that the hybrid model saw a decreased quit rate, decreased absenteeism, and decreased complaints to human resources.
Details: More than 340,000 jobs are based downtown, according to a Best Practices Playbook put out by the Chamber, Challenge Seattle, and the Downtown Seattle Association.
- But while tourism has nearly rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, office worker foot traffic is only 44% of what it was in 2019.
- The residential population in downtown Seattle is growing, however, and some leaders are now pointing to that as an opportunity.
The intrigue: Of the days of the week that employees are required to be in the office, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were the most popular, per the Best Practices Playbook.
- Midweek commute times have increased since Amazon's return-to-work mandate, which went into effect at the beginning of May, according to KIRO News Radio.
What they're saying: "There were two things we knew going into this survey: first, that many employers continue to embrace flexibility as a benefit for their employees, and second, that people being together — in person — can be an essential element of collaboration, innovation and vibrancy," Smith said.