For the first time since the pandemic upended work life five years ago, more than half the companies in the Fortune 100 have their employees fully back in the office, according to a report from real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
Hybrid schedules, which two years ago were offered by 78% of the 100 largest US companies by revenue, are now available at just 41% of them, while the share of Fortune 100 firms requiring full-time office attendance has jumped to 54% from 5%.
The shift to an in-office majority is helping to reshape the commercial real estate market. Office attendance in April and May was up 1.3% versus the same period last year, and the most desirable buildings are commanding record prices. JLL notes that "trophy buildings across Miami, New York City, San Francisco and other markets captured all-time high rents," with new construction asking $92.38 per square foot, the highest on record.
At the same time, with vacancies hovering above 22%, developers are pulling older buildings off the market. According to JLL, national office inventory declined by 700,000 square feet last quarter, as demolitions and conversions, mainly to residential, industrial or mixed-use developments, outpaced new construction.
The return of employees helps justify costly office leases in premium buildings. Among the 10 largest Fortune 100 companies, seven now require at least four days a week in-person, with the other three demanding full-time attendance, JLL found. According to the report, the average in-office requirement of the Fortune 100 rose to 3.8 days per week in the second quarter of 2025 from 2.6 days in the second quarter of 2023.
Amazon.com Inc. started prepping corporate staff in 2024 to return fully to in-person work by January. JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced on Jan. 10 that it was ending its hybrid-work option, too. More recently, Starbucks Corp. announced it will require corporate employees to work in the office four days a week starting Sept. 29, and remote managers were told they must relocate to Seattle or Toronto within a year. Workers who opt to leave will be given a one-time cash exit offer, based on documents seen by Bloomberg News.
The office mandates haven't been without their ups and downs for big employers, several of which had to regroup after running out of space for all of their returning workers. The trend is clear, though. After years of uncertainty, companies are tightening expectations and reasserting control over where work happens, and the era of hybrid work being the dominant option has come to a close. Executives are calling people back - and this time, they mean it.
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