### Office Foot Traffic Slows in February 2025
#### Return-to-Work Mandates on the Rise
Return-to-work (RTO) mandates are becoming more common, with many government and private sector employees being directed to return to the office full-time. However, despite the increasing focus on RTO, nationwide office visits in February 2025 were still 36.3% lower than in February 2019, according to Placer.ai’s latest Office Index.
Additionally, most cities saw year-over-year declines in office visits, highlighting the ongoing challenges of office attendance recovery.
#### Digging Beneath the RTO Headlines
So, what’s driving these trends?
“While RTO mandates are pushing some elements of recovery, most still include hybrid work arrangements,” said Ethan Chernofsky, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Placer.ai.
Despite many organizations expressing a desire to bring employees back to the office, hybrid and remote work continue to play a significant role in workplace dynamics. “The current trends in cities more affected by RTO mandates show that hybrid work remains a key component,” Chernofsky noted. He added that this continuation underscores hybrid work as one of the most lasting shifts resulting from the pandemic.
#### Location, Location, Location
Office visitation rates varied significantly across different cities.
The report found that New York City and Miami are leading the nationwide office recovery, followed by Atlanta, Houston, Washington D.C., and Dallas. Notably, San Francisco outperformed Chicago, which could suggest that RTO mandates in the tech industry are beginning to drive office attendance in the nation’s tech hub.
Chernofsky explained that cities successfully returning to office operations are likely operating under a “new normal,” meaning that major shifts in office attendance may no longer be expected. However, some cities are further behind in the RTO process, which could lead to future increases in office visits as policies and employee behavior continue to evolve.
Weather and holiday timing may have also played a role in February’s office visitation numbers. “The results we’re seeing are in line with expectations, especially when factoring in the impact of inclement weather in certain regions,” Chernofsky pointed out.
#### Should We Be Worried?
Not necessarily.
Chernofsky advised against jumping to conclusions about February’s numbers, cautioning that it’s too early to determine whether this represents a long-term trend. “For most leading cities, we’re already operating within the ‘new normal’ for office visits,” he said.
However, cities that are lagging in office recovery may experience different outcomes in the months ahead. Some could see a slow but steady resurgence, while others may continue at their current pace, influencing future decisions about where businesses choose to establish office spaces.
“This could lead to a recovery that eventually reaches similar levels as other cities but takes longer to develop,” Chernofsky explained. “Alternatively, this norm could persist, affecting where businesses decide to set up based on their office attendance strategies.”
