Pandemic’s impact on office space continues to reverberate

With the fourth quarter of 2021 underway, the office sector remains a shell of what it was once — and more potential trouble is on the way to close out the year.

A new survey, from small business web hosting and review site digital.com, found that almost four in 10 businesses, 39%, plan to close some or all office space within the next six months.

This comes on top of the office market’s elephant in the room: remote work. The survey of more than 1,200 businesses nationwide, to wit, includes the following findings:

• Nearly seven of 10, 69%, of U.S. businesses have already permanently closed some or all company office space since March 2020.

• More than one-third, 37%, have permanently closed all office space.

• Close to half, 41%, of businesses have downsized existing office space since the pandemic began.

• More than half, 51%, that plan to keep office space will allow employees the choice of working fully remotely indefinitely.

• Some 64% of large businesses, companies with at least 500 employees, downsized office space. Another 36% closed some offices.  

• Businesses with 10 or less employees were the most likely to not have closed any office space — with nearly half keeping the doors open.