ST. LOUIS — Just over half of St. Louis companies have a plan for employees to return to the office, according to a new survey from JLL.
The commercial real estate firm's St. Louis office surveyed employees from May 21 to May 29 to gauge whether companies are ready for people to return to the office. Results show that 51% of the 103 respondents said their company has a date set for employees to return. Of those who do have a plan, more than half are small companies with less than 49 employees.
The survey also found that 55% of companies with more than 50 employees have yet to determine a return date.
Nearly a third of all respondents work at companies in professional and business services, followed by law firms and finance, respectively. Nearly half work in downtown St. Louis, the survey said.
"It goes to show that all of these companies are exercising extreme caution in bringing people back," said Andrew Thompson, JLL St. Louis' senior research analyst.
JLL launched the survey after its clients asked what other companies were doing in preparation for offices to reopen, he said.
"No one has to had to make a decision like this before ... I don't think anyone wanted to be the first to go back," Thompson said.
The survey followed Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's lifting of the state's stay-at-home order on May 4 and the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County's loosening of restrictions the week of May 18.
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