US lags behind as workers in Europe, Asia return to offices

February 28, 2023 at 08:31 AM EST

U.S. workers are returning to their offices at a far slower rate than Europe and Asia, with U.S. offices seeing barely half of their pre-pandemic populations.

European and Asian workers are speeding ahead of their American counterparts in returning to offices following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the U.S., offices are filling up to just 40-60% of their pre-pandemic levels, while offices in Europe and the Middle East ar at 70-90%, according to the Wall St. Journal. Meanwhile, offices across Asia are at 80-110% occupation, meaning many have increased over pre-pandemic levels.

Office population in the U.S. varies wildly according to the time of year and the day of the week, with Tuesdays being the most populated and a large majority of workers skipping out on Fridays.

Average office use topped 50% for the first time in the U.S. since the pandemic earlier in February, according to a Kastle Systems report covering 10 major cities.

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Some city leaders are trying to force employers to bring their workers back to offices in an effort to save local economies.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has blamed a lack of commuting federal workers for the closing of shops and restaurants in the nation's capital. She has called on President Biden to force workers back into their offices, according to WSJ.

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"We need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings" she said.