Restaurants and bars in major cities are still struggling to draw the same crowds on Mondays and Fridays that they did pre-COVID, with many office workers continuing to work from home on those days, according to a new report.
Nightlife proprietors in big-city business districts say that while business on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is essentially back to normal, the start and end of the week are still lagging, according to CNBC.
Many blame the persistence and popularity of hybrid work arrangements, which have made three days of working in the office the norm for many white collar workers.
A survey last month found that 40% of workers nationwide are still working either fully remote or hybrid, with the average annual decline in spending near the office is down more than $4,000 per worker in New York, DC, and Los Angeles.
‘Even though you may be busy on Wednesday and Thursday, your Mondays and Fridays may be very slow,’ Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, told CNBC.
Restaurants and bars in major cities are still struggling to draw the same crowds on Mondays and Fridays that they did pre-COVID, due to three-day hybrid workweeks (stock image)
Among all US full-time workers, 40% either work fully remote or in a hybrid arrangement
New York had seen the biggest decline in average annual per-person spending near the office, with a decline of $4,661
‘If someone was to walk by a restaurant around lunch or dinner time on a Thursday, they may say, ‘Wow, that restaurant’s packed, they’re so busy,’ but it’s not like that every single day,’ he added.
When the COIVD pandemic hit in May 2020, over 61% of people worked from home – a number that has only halved despite the nation’s attempts gets back on its feet.
The rate of working from home was just 4.7% prior to the pandemic, a stark difference that has experts concerned about the continual impact across numerous industries.
Now, nearly three years after the onset of the pandemic, data collected by WFH Research found that the level of working-from-home remains six times higher than before.
And this level rises to almost 50 percent of all employees insisting on working remotely in large urban areas, such as New York and Washington DC.
While for workers, the convenience and savings in commuting costs and time are significant, the trend has been hard on businesses in many major downtown areas.
Last month, the only Ruth’s Chris Steak House location in Manhattan announced that it would be closing after 30 years, when the lease expired and the parent company decided not to renew.
DC has seen the greatest reduction in on-site working days since prior to the pandemic
The hospitality industry is still struggling to adapt to changes in working trends (stock image)
As the hospitality industry continues to struggle and high inflation continues to shift spending patterns, the persistence of hybrid and remote work has some economists concerned.
‘It’s affected so many things,’ said Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and WFH researcher, to The Hill .
‘It’s affected city structure. It’s affecting days of the week that people play sport: golf, tennis. It’s affecting retail.’
The researcher said remote working is impacting spending in some cities, as former-industry hubs are failing to return to their former glory.
In New York, Bloom said, the city’s coffers are ‘going to see about $12 billion less in expenditures in downtown Manhattan’, the center of city’s financial sector.
The survey from WFH research found that New York had seen the biggest decline in average annual per-person spending near the office, with a decline of $4,661.
That was followed by Los Angeles at $4,200, Washington DC at $4,051, and Atlanta at $3,938.
Remote working spiked early in the pandemic, and is still well above pre-pandemic norms
Following the pandemic’s work-from-home boom that saw a majority of employees forced to avoid the office, the next two years saw a gradual push from businesses to bring back-office life.
But hybrid and remote work have proven popular and persistent, and into the first month of 2023, 12.7% of all full-time workers remained fully remote.
The city that leads the way in work-from-home employees is Washington DC, with WFH Research finding that the nation’s capital saw a 37% reduction of in-person days in the office.
This was closely followed by Atlanta at 34.9%, Phoenix at 34.1% and Los Angeles, at 32.9%.
