The latest placer.ai office data shows March 2026 was the strongest month for office visits since before COVID. That's real progress! But…the math is worth a closer look:

• We're still ~27% below 2019 levels, six years in

• If we adjust for an extra working day in March, it's closer to 30% below

• Year-on-year gains are running ~6%, which closes the gap by only a couple of percentage points annually

• The recovery is largely driven by company mandates, not individual preferences

When I wrote "Remote Isn't Working," this is what I meant. It’s not that things aren't improving or that remote work is bad in and of itself, but that this is a permanent condition for cities. For cities or downtowns built around the assumption that knowledge workers need to be there, the return to normal isn't coming. This is the new normal!

More here: ryanpuzycki.com/p/remot…