Employers are boosting office amenities to push stalled RTO efforts

“If you build it, they will come” was meant for a baseball diamond in a cornfield, but bosses these days are hoping that it also applies to getting employees back in the office. Companies eager to boost attendance are upping their game with enticing amenities.

CBRE, a commercial real estate company, polled its clients to find out what office amenities they were prioritizing to lure back employees. Amenities relating to the commute (public transportation access and car parking) were the top two, followed by on-site food and beverage—like a cafeteria—and having enough meeting space.

Previous data from design firm Gensler revealed the growing popularity of certain office amenities, including quiet spaces and creative collaboration zones. The company’s survey data found that employees are more inclined to return to the office if it offers the right mix of spaces they need.

Although office attendance hit a high at the beginning of this year, reaching 50% of pre-pandemic levels, the number of companies that require employees to be in the office full-time has decreased from 49% to 42% from February to mid-May, according to Scoop Technologies, a workplace monitoring software firm.

In an effort to get employees in offices, some employers are trying stricter mandates, while others are focused on improving the office experience. The issue has even drawn governmental action. NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently announced tax incentives for owners who upgrade office buildings constructed before the year 2000, the WSJ pointed out.

“The office is still an important organizational tool to help culture,” Julie Whelan, CBRE’s head of occupier research for the Americas, said in a CBRE media call last week. “Lower than anticipated utilization is happening today because it is very hard to change behaviors that have been rooted for three years now…organizations are taking more action to train new norms and behaviors.”