JLL has released new analysis that reveals how hybrid work, shifting family dynamics and commuting culture are converging to reshape the U.S. workplace, commuting and corporate real estate strategies.
Childcare deadlines now dictate commute patterns, according to the research, and 4 o’clock has become the new 5 o’clock for some Manhattan office workers who migrated to the suburbs during COVID and now calculate their departure time based on their specific commute.
Led by Vice Chairman Kevin Kelly, the study found that, since the pandemic, the suburban footprint of Manhattan office workers has grown by 45,000 employees, with more than one-third of the increase in “new suburbs” beyond traditional cores like Suffolk County. Suburban Manhattan commuting workforce growth also has been disproportionately driven by women, with 76 percent of top-quintile earning households dual income.
At the same time, stricter return-to-office mandates are spreading beyond Wal
