In the big cities, teleworking has completely emptied the office towers. New York, the city of a thousand and one skyscrapers, was no exception. In Midtown or Wall Street, some workers are gradually returning because of the relief of sanitary measures. But telecommuting has changed the lives of New Yorkers – and perhaps it could make an indelible mark on the city, too.
The waltz of suits has resumed somewhat in the streets of New York. At noon, we find these office workers in business districts, Starbucks coffee in one hand and lunch in the other. Except that, like in many other big cities, they are far from all coming back. In the Big Apple, office occupancy has dropped dramatically with the pandemic – from nearly 100% in February 2020, to just 4% as of April 15, 2020, only to rise to around 20% today ‘hui, according to the security company Kastle Systems.
With the pandemic, business travel has been put on hold. Meetings have become virtual. And a whole section of the economy has suffered: from restaurants, to shops and hotels. But in recent weeks, the tide has started to turn. Large employers, like JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are starting to recall their workers to offices.
Like everyone else, the Quebec delegation in New York also had to close its doors and ask its teams to work remotely. “It was very trying,” says General Delegate Catherine Loubier. We were in the most affected city in the world. The teams were very nimble and worked very diligently from home. “
Today, the delegation is gradually returning to its premises at 1 Rockefeller Plaza. “Some time ago, a certain number of employees were allowed to return to the offices, but while leaving them completely the choice, given the realities of each one. At the end of May, the 33-employee team even held “a first face-to-face meeting” in over a year.
As face-to-face dates resume in New York, outside or on the terraces, Mr.me Loubier is optimistic for the next few months, although she doesn’t expect a real return to the office until the fall. This is where it will start again, she thinks. We also have to come back to reality at some point and tell ourselves that we must make an effort to come back face to face, because it is our job and we must do it. But it should not be done abruptly – especially in the summer, because people are also exhausted from the pandemic. “
According to estimates from the Partnership for New York City (PFNYC), an organization representing the interests of the city’s business people, just under half of office workers (45%) are expected to be back by the next year. autumn. And more than half of them will work remotely for at least part of the week, estimates the organization.
A phenomenon here to stay
Marie-Ange Zibi is in no hurry to return to the office. Before the pandemic, the one who lives in Bedford-Stuysevant, Brooklyn, had to travel every day to the United Nations headquarters, her workplace, in the neighborhood of Turtle Bay, east of Midtown.
“I had to do an hour of public transport in the morning and another hour in the evening. In total, I was wasting 2 hours of my day, says the digital communications analyst. It didn’t bother me, because it was okay to spend my time in the metro. But now that doesn’t tempt me anymore. “
The native Montrealer, installed in New York since September 2019 – only six months before the start of the pandemic – has been fully telecommuting since March 2020. “Before, it was: metro, work, sleep. The boring life, what. If I can work in hybrid mode, counting for a day or two in the office and the rest telecommuting, that would be really perfect, she explains. I like being able to work from home or in a cafe now that it’s reopened. It’s really more flexible. “
For the moment, Marie-Ange Zibi’s team has no plan to return to the office, “maybe for September, but it’s not yet concrete at all”. But even without needing to physically return to the office, the 27-year-old plans to stay and live in New York. “I like the city even better now,” she said. Before, I thought everything was going too fast in New York. We had a hard time following. There, teleworking allows me to have a little more time for myself! I can enjoy the parks and the restaurants now that it’s reopened. “
Bill Gadit, a 29-year-old New Yorker, would also be satisfied with a hybrid way of working. Thanks to teleworking, the one who is an analyst for a bank, believes that “New Yorkers have finally discovered that they can have a life”, by avoiding daily trips by public transport which “drain a lot of energy and make less productive at work, ”he said.
Until now, his employer required him to come to the office once a month. But from next week, the frequency to which he will have to return will rather increase to 2 or 3 times a week. “I think some are anxious to get back to the office, but telecommuting is really something that’s here to stay – especially for us millennials who have grown up with technology. We are agile from that point of view. We have been trained for the world of work of tomorrow, unlike another generation who may not be living the transition as well. “
The city facing change
If teleworking is not going to disappear, what to do with the office spaces left vacant? In January, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed converting commercial spaces and hotels decimated by the pandemic into housing. “I think that’s a very good thing and that it could help make the city a little more affordable too,” believes Sybil Wa, urban planner and professor at Columbia University.
Telecommuting is really something that’s here to stay – especially for us millennials who have grown up with technology. We are agile from this point of view.
Cities are certainly places where we work, but also places where we live, she insists. “Cities don’t just depend on offices for their survival, although they are a very important aspect of the business activity that takes place there. New York has great universities, internationally renowned museums, it’s a concentrate of culture… There are plenty of other reasons why people will continue to be attracted there, ”she says.
According to Sybil Wa, cities have proven they can cope with change. “Until the beginning of the XXe century, the city streets were filled with horses and carriages. And then the cars changed the landscape. And now the cycle paths too! Cities adapt when there are big changes. “
“I am a designer, therefore an optimist by nature, jokes Mme Wa. But I think we used to live in a city because it was our place of work – then maybe now people will live in a city because they love it and for what it has to. to offer. “
This report was funded with support from the Transat International Journalism FundThe duty.
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