Posthaste: Toronto lags the world in returning to the office — and real estate feels the pain

financialpost.com:

Workers around the world have been trickling back to the office since the pandemic, but in Canada that trickle appears to be slower than most.

According to a report by Centre for Cities, Toronto lags other major global centres in returning to the office. With just 2.7 days on site on average, Canada’s biggest city ranks with London at the bottom of the scale.

That number would increase if employer mandates were more strictly enforced, but the report notes that more than half of Toronto bosses are worried about staff quitting from tightening office-working mandates.

While hybrid work has its merits, there are concerns that it puts regions at a productivity disadvantage, says Centre for Cities. In knowledge-intensive industries there is a known benefit in “agglomeration,” the transfer of information and skills in densely populated city centres.

“This could be desk-based discussions, catch-ups in local cafes, even serendipitous encounters on the street – all these boost worker skills and firm productivity,” said the report.  “And don’t just take economists’ word on this; both surveyed employers and employees recognized the learning benefits of attending their city-centre offices.”

Another drawback of remote work is the impact on office real estate, which has been reeling globally since pandemic shutdowns.

A report from CIBC Capital Markets highlights a possible connection between the number of days workers are spending in the office and vacancy rates.

Singapore and Paris with the highest office attendance also have the lowest vacancy rates at 5 per cent and 8 per cent. At the other end, Sydney, London and Toronto have the lowest number of average days in the office and the highest vacancy rates of 12 per cent, 8 per cent