Office occupancy is creeping back up — and other happenings in the world of work

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Catch up on headlines from the last 7 days.

• Office occupancy is on the rise. Read more about this below.
• Retail sales inched up in June, the Commerce Department found, suggesting the American consumer is remaining resilient. Sales rose in seven out of 13 measured categories, including electronics and furniture stores.?
• Hybrid workers are getting flexible at 4 p.m. Researchers at Microsoft, LinkedIn’s parent company, found that the average work day has three “peaks” during which keyboard activity spikes, one in the morning and the afternoon, and another around 10 p.m., likely accounting for the late afternoon “dead zone” from 4 to 6 p.m.
• The annual income needed to be in the top 1% of earners is more than $650,000, according to a SmartAsset analysis of IRS tax filing. That’s eight times the national median household income, which is about $75,000.
• Diversity executive roles are falling to the wayside. Software company Live Data Technologies found that diversity execs have experienced more layoffs — and 40% higher turnover — compared to their colleagues as companies reevaluate priorities and execs quit after feeling they haven’t been able to make a difference.?
• Jobless claims hit a two-month low. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped to 228,000 last week, the lowest level in two months. Continuing claims — people who receive benefits for more than a week — rose to a three-month high. This points to demand for workers despite slowed hiring.
• One in five Americans don’t think they will ever retire, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll. Just over a third of people nearing “typical” retirement age — 55 and over — believe they’ll be able to retire when expected.
• Home prices keep falling, but sales are too. The median cost of a house dropped to $410,200 in June, but that is still one of the highest monthly median prices on record, according to the National Association of Realtors. Low inventory and high interest rates are driving the trend.

Take a closer look at recent trending topics — and engage with meaningful conversations happening on LinkedIn.

Office occupancy is creeping back up

• This could be the year offices start looking like they did pre-pandemic. Kastle Systems, a security company tracking key card swipes in offices in the 10 largest U.S. metro areas, found that offices hit 49.1% occupancy the week ending July 12. One week in early June even saw 50% occupancy — marking the first time post-pandemic offices have been half-full. Those figures have been inching up steadily since the start of 2022.
• What’s more? Real estate consulting firm JLL found that attendance policies have been set for 1.5 million office workers so far this year — and estimated another million are expected to face new policies in the second half of the year. It’s the latest in a push-and-pull between workers and leadership in the return-to-office debate. Many workers, some managers included, would prefer a hybrid schedule. Most senior-level workers making over $150,000 a year would even take a 20% pay cut to keep a more flexible schedule, new research from McKinsey showed. Stanford economist Nick Bloom noted that globally, employees want to work-from-home one more additional day than firms are comfortable with.
• If hybrid is the future, Wednesdays are starting to look like the day to head into the office. In Manhattan, for example, office visitation rates on Wednesdays are 73% of what they were in 2019, according to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York. Fridays, on the other hand, are at just 43% of the 2019 levels.

Some job seekers will go far and wide for work

• Long distance migrations are on the decline in the U.S. Workers are much more likely these days to bop down the road, moving less than 25 miles, than they are to move from one major city to another these days. But people are still willing to uproot in a big way to pursue certain career opportunities, according to a new analysis from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph team.?
• People are willing to move farther particularly for opportunities in Sun Belt states. Americans migrated the longest median distance — 592 miles — to the Cape Coral, Fla. metro area. That’s followed by Colorado Springs, Colo. (515 miles), North Port-Sarasota, Fla. (478 miles), Charleston, S.C. (266 miles) and Las Vegas (224 miles). Fields with the longest median migrations include technology, information and media, government administration, and oil, gas and mining.
• Hanie Abu El Hawa, a talent acquisition specialist, moved to Colorado Springs from the East Coast recently. “I can say the quality of life goes way up when you’re not in traffic six hours a week,” he commented. Jenn Bergstrom, a tech executive, commented that these long moves don’t just alter your career prospects or quality of life. “As others have said, each move served a purpose and taught us things we wouldn’t have learned any other way,” she said.

Bosses have a big impact on team morale

• Dips in motivation at work are normal. And good bosses are necessary when it comes to breaking out of those low morale moments. According to recent research featured in Harvard Business Review, managers impact 30-40% of the variability in team morale and performance.?
• Experts say some strategies managers can employ to boost morale include asking reports what matters to them and reaffirming how that plays into the team’s mission, sharing what they appreciate about working together and facilitating social time. Opening lines of communication are an important first step. “As a manager, I regularly communicate with my team members and actively listen to their concerns and ideas,” Lala Freeman, a real estate professional, commented. “This helps them feel valued and supported,” she said.?
• Freeman recommends other managers looking to reenergize and motivate their teams can check in with them — and “encourage a healthy work-life balance and provide opportunities for growth and development.” Leadership coach Kathleen Smith echoed these suggestions and added that praising reports for a job well done goes a long way. “Don’t just say ‘good job’ but maybe throw a pizza party or buy lunch for the team to show your appreciation,” she said. “Let them know you are there working alongside them.”

Get ready for the week by seeing what’s coming up.

• Tuesday, July 25: The May edition of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the country, will be released.
• Tuesday, July 25: The Conference Board will release its monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, which measures how optimistic Americans are about the economy.
• Wednesday, July 26: The U.S. Census Bureau will release the number of new building permits issued by the government in June, which is a key housing market indicator. It will also release a report about the number of new single-family homes sold in June.
• Wednesday, July 26: The Federal Reserve will announce its next interest rate decision.
• Wednesday, July 26: LinkedIn Senior Editor at Large George Anders will release his latest edition of Workforce Insights.
• Thursday, July 27: The U.S. Department of Labor will release initial jobless claims for the previous week. The report, a proxy for layoffs, tracks the number of people filing for unemployment benefits.
• Thursday, July 27: The U.S. Census Bureau will release its monthly report on durable goods orders, which measures manufacturing activity.
• Thursday, July 27: The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release an estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product.
• Thursday, July 27: The National Association of REALTORS? will release its monthly pending home sales report for June, measuring the number of contract signings from the previous month.
• Friday, July 28: The U.S. Department of Commerce will release June’s Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index — the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. The report measures changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy.
• Friday, July 28: The University of Michigan will release its reading of July’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which measures how Americans feel about current and future economic conditions.