Half of In-Office Workers Meet No One In Person
Managers running in-office or hybrid mandates should check whether office days are producing in-person collaboration before relying on attendance numbers.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Remote Work
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A New York Federal Reserve survey of 1,835 college-educated workers, conducted in September 2026, found that 48.8% of in-office workers had no in-person meetings on their most recent office days. The findings point to a gap between office attendance and actual collaboration for hybrid and in-office staff.
Why it matters
Companies pressing for office attendance are finding that workers who show up often sit in meetings with colleagues who are not there, undercutting the collaboration rationale for mandates. Researchers tie the pattern to fully remote colleagues, geographically spread teams, collaboration technology, and weak enforcement of attendance rules.
Of 1,835 college-educated workers surveyed by the New York Fed, 48.8% reported no in-person meetings on their most recent office days, and 70.6% had at least one teammate absent. Roughly one in four U.S. workers is fully remote, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the survey.
The players
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
A regional Federal Reserve bank that conducts economic research and surveys, including this study of office attendance and workplace collaboration.
Natalia Emanuel
A researcher who co-authored the New York Fed analysis of survey responses, Fortune 500 personnel and badge data, and BLS time-use data on in-office work.
Emma Harrington
A researcher who co-authored the New York Fed analysis of in-office work patterns and collaboration gaps.
Zoom
A video conferencing software company whose collaboration tools are cited as one factor enabling remote participation in in-office workers' meetings.
The details
Workers commute in to take Zoom calls and answer Slack messages from their cubicles, the researchers found. The pattern follows from teams spread across more offices after the post-Covid reorganization, workers skipping mandated days, and employers not strictly enforcing attendance rules. Researchers Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington drew on survey responses, Fortune 500 personnel and badge data, and BLS time-use data to reach these conclusions.
Timeline
September 2026: The New York Fed survey of 1,835 college-educated workers was conducted.
November 2, 2026: CNBC published its article on the New York Fed findings.
Market Landscape
The findings add to a 2023-2026 debate over return-to-office mandates, with the survey measuring attendance against actual meetings rather than badge counts alone. The Fortune 500 badge data adds corporate evidence that teammate absence on office days is common across large employers.
Operators who require in-office attendance should audit whether scheduled days produce in-person collaboration, since many in-office workers are meeting on video with absent colleagues. Managers should weigh whether mandate enforcement and team scheduling, rather than attendance alone, are driving the collaboration results they expect.
The takeaway
The survey suggests attendance mandates alone do not produce in-person collaboration when teams are geographically spread. Operators reviewing hybrid policy should track in-person meeting share on office days as a metric alongside headcount in the office.
Further reading
For broader context on how hybrid and in-office arrangements are reshaping daily work, see Remote Work coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by CNBC.
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Do your in-office days actually involve meaningful in-person interaction with colleagues?
