Will Puget Sound-area office workers ever go back to the in-person grind?

The pandemic has changed how and where we work — maybe permanently.

More than two years into a global pandemic, many Puget Sound-area offices are not filling back up.

The vacancy rate for Seattle office space was approaching 14% in the second quarter of 2022, a slight increase from the same time last year, according to a report by commercial real estate firm The Broderick Group.

Across knowledge economy businesses, more employees than expected are sticking with fully remote or hybrid work models.

The uncertain future of in-person work is already having a tangible impact in our region: Amazon announced last week that it is pausing construction on five towers in Bellevue, and holding off on building a sixth while it adjusts to the new reality of post-pandemic work habits.

How has the pandemic changed how and where we work in the Pacific Northwest? And if we’re not going back to the office, what’s going to happen with all that office space?

On Tuesday’s episode, Soundside welcomed Abha Bhattarai, the economics correspondent for The Washington Post, to talk about her recent story, “Nobody wants to be in the office on Fridays.”

Also on the show: Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Modern Work at Microsoft.

Spataro stopped by to discuss how the software giant is shaping flexible return-to-office policies – and shared insight into how American employers are navigating the new normal with findings from Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index, released earlier this year.