Nearly Half of Workers in Dallas Are Back in the Office

The Dallas workforce is back in the office. The city has relaxed pandemic restrictions around in-office attendance prior to other markets. At the end of the year, more than 40% of workers are back in the office in the city, compared to only 13.4% in San Francisco and 15.9% in New York.

“The state of Texas as a whole has been consistent about allowing companies who wish to return to the workplace to come back. This attitude has been instrumental in Dallas having the largest number of office users return to the workplace during the pandemic,” Giovanni Cordoves, western regional president at KBS, tells GlobeSt.com. “Naturally, Dallas’ business-friendly culture and high percentage of car commuters with access to the metro area’s massive geography have contributed to these gains.”

This trend is happening across industries in Dallas, which has a diversified job market. “Diversification can be a wise mitigating strategy against the negative impacts of an economic shutdown that affects specific industries, and we all know that some industries, such as retail and tourism, have been hit harder by COVID-19 and the resulting shutdowns than others,” Brett Merz, SVP and Texas asset manager, tells GlobeSt.com. “The market’s diversification is one of the reasons KBS has invested in nine Dallas assets, including 3811 Turtle Creek and Highland Park Place, both for which we recently signed several new leases and an expansion with an existing tenant; Preston Commons, which just completed a large renovation including the addition of new outdoor meeting, exercise and lounge spaces; and Providence Towers, which is currently under renovation, to name a few.”

The firm’s current project is Novē Knox, a ground-up high-rise apartment complex, located only a few miles from Downtown Dallas. “Since originally investing in Dallas in the early 1990’s, KBS is committed to this market and will continue to be actively involved as opportunities present themselves post pandemic and into the future,” says Cordoves.

The return to office was driven by a combination of eased government restrictions as well as worker demand to return to the office, a trend that also bodes well for the future of office. “There is evidence that many employees are increasingly experiencing “work from home fatigue” and wish to return to the office as soon as it is safe to do so. In fact, a recent Gensler survey reveals that most of the workforce misses the camaraderie and opportunity for spontaneous collaboration that the workplace offers,” says Merz. “When given the choice, many people like having a central hub for doing work, and offices that offer amenities that add to employees’ comfort and convenience, as well as boost productivity, will be ahead once a broad return to the workplace occurs.”