Remote work in NYC: Eric Adams softens stance on hybrid schedules for city employees

Having opposed the idea for some time, New York Mayor Eric Adams appears to be more open to the idea of ​​allowing city employees to work from home than he was a year ago.

He dropped the idea of ​​telecommuting for city employees in 2022, saying early in his tenure as mayor, “One thing can’t happen – you can’t stay home in your pajamas all day. We are not like that.” like a city.”

But it now appears that Adams has advanced on that point, admitting this week that “we’re telling our agencies to come up with creative ways to be flexible.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the transition to office work has taken longer than anyone expected as she, too, predicted (if not demanded) a more sustainable return to work schedule. But now it looks like she’s opening up to the idea, whether she likes it or not.

“I think the mayor is just acknowledging the reality. We have a shortage of workers, especially in the government,” Hochul said, adding that a more robust office model may be available in the future. “I think it’s all temporary, it shouldn’t be a death sentence five days a week, but we’re not quite there yet.”

In a speech in the Garment District on Wednesday, she said more offices could become housing, which is badly needed in a city facing a shortage of affordable housing.

“There are a lot of square feet here,” she said.

The lines between work and family life are blurring as many people work from home, says Sam Ettus, author and CEO of Park Place Payments. You need to set boundaries and enforce them during the hours you log out, says Ettus.

Katherine Wild of the New York Business Partnership said the numbers speak for themselves.

“Less than 10% of office workers return to work five days a week,” she said. “I think the mayor understood that the world has changed.”

Wilde added that if the employer, including City Hall, does not offer a work-from-home option, vacancies could go unfilled.

“We will have to work with employees, they drive the bus here,” Wilde said.

The change of heart comes after a Bloomberg News study found that Manhattan’s shift to telecommuting means the island’s office workers are spending roughly $12 billion less each year than they did before the pandemic. According to a Stanford University data analysis, employees spend about 30 percent less time in the office, reducing their annual spending on food, entertainment, and more by an average of nearly $4,700 per person.

While the same is happening in other major cities, the cost per person in New York is more than 50 percent lower than anywhere else, Bloomberg found. The study tracks other sets of data that suggest that nearly three years after New York’s first COVID case, people simply haven’t returned to full-time office work.

However, some areas (mostly residential) are seeing a surprising increase as people who work from home go out for lunch and shop in places not used to midday business.