Mayor Eric Adams wants New York City to get back to work.
The Democrat on Wednesday told about 100 chief executives to map out a plan for getting people back into the office as the omicron variant eases and the country grapples with how to live with the coronavirus.
He said a permanent cycle of remote work will harm the city’s “financial ecosystem” in which restaurants and other businesses rely on white-collar workers who generate foot traffic in the city.
“The best thing we can do to deal with COVID is get back to work,” Mr. Adams told reporters.
“We can’t send mixed messages, we can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” he said. “It’s time.”
New York suffered from the first major wave of the virus in spring 2020. Since then, major businesses in the city have announced reopening plans, only to delay them as new variants and surges emerged. Some businesses could make remote work a permanent feature.
But the mayor said all city businesses are co-dependent.
“It’s going to impact you. Eventually, you’re going to lose your clients,” Mr. Adams told CEOs, using the example of an accountant who balances the books for a small company. “Because if our restaurants close, if our small businesses close, who’s going to give you the business?”
Mr. Adams also told CEOs to help him create 30,000 jobs as part of a Summer Youth Employment initiative this year.
Major financial institutions such as CitiGroup, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs outlined plans to return to office throughout February on the back end of the omicron wave.
Elsewhere, Microsoft is working to fully reopen its office in Redmond, Washington, by March 30. Its office in the Bay Area of California is set to reopen on Feb. 28.
Other companies might face a tough negotiation with their employees. A Pew Research Center survey released this week found among workers who can do their jobs remotely, about 6 in 10 are staying home all or most of the time.
Among those who could report to a worksite, the majority (61%) say they are choosing to stay home while the rest say their office remains closed.
And 60% of those working remotely say they’d like to continue working from home once the pandemic is over, up from 54% in 2020.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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