Office occupancy has reached its highest levels since March 2020 over the past month. Driven by high vaccination rates and the return of children to school in major markets, September has recorded an 18-month high of 87% occupancy compared to pre-lockdown levels, according to data from Metrikus. We may still have turbulence ahead but this is certainly starting to look like the return-to-work that we have been waiting for, and our first chance to assess how that return is taking shape after more than a year of speculation. From remote and hybrid working, to monitoring and employee privacy, to all the benefits of smart buildings in the post-COVID era, we can use this foray into new normality to see how the workplace has changed. “With the shift to hybrid working, conversations over the past year between employee and employer have been dominated by what the office can offer the former that they can’t get at home,” […]