Exploring workplace foot traffic trends with Envoy’s head of data analytics

Workplace leaders have been tasked with major challenges over the last two years. Managing office shut-downs and reopenings. Keeping up with the latest CDC regulations and health and safety protocols. Adapting the workplace to meet the needs of a hybrid workforce. And all with limited to no data to support them.

That's why Envoy analyzed more than 27 million workplace sign-ins around the globe to create At Work: the 2022 workplace trends report. In advance of the report, our head of analytics, Jonathan Weindel, hosted a webinar to preview some highlights.

Read on to get a sneak peak of the data and hear some takeaways from the webinar…

The four waves of workplace traffic growth

Jonathan kicked things off diving into how workplace foot traffic grew from January to December. He shared that “global workplace traffic in 2021 was a tale of four different waves.”

“Wave one was characterized by strong growth as many employees were vaccinated and came back to the workplace. By mid-March, the US reached a key milestone, administering 100 million vaccinations. In four months of this wave, we saw foot traffic grow by over 45% across companies of all different sizes and industries.”

“The next wave was highlighted by seasonality,” he continues. “Summer saw employees taking more vacations but we also believe that the flattening of the growth curve was due to reaction of the Delta variant. During this phase we actually saw a net decrease in workplace traffic from May through the beginning of September.”

“Wave three was a Fall rebound. Workplace traffic increased over 40% as coronavirus cases contracted. More businesses were returning to normal, schools were in session, and there was a general sense of optimism around the return to work.”

“The final wave is where we see a dramatic decrease primarily due to holiday seasonality, which we see every year. But there was also a significant reaction to the Omicron variant as well. If we take a step back in the US before Thanksgiving holiday, traffic in the workplace grew 87% from where it was back in January 2021. In fact, looking at 2021–inclusive of holidays and the impact of the Omicron variant–traffic was 41% higher on average than it was at the start of the year.”

What to expect in 2022

When asked if we should expect to see similar growth in 2022, Jonathan says that his team’s forecasts and current trends look promising. “We see more companies announcing plans to bring more employees back. And we see them investing in the technology needed to bring peace of mind to employees as they return to the workplace. Taking out seasonality, we're predicting around a 50% increase in 2022 traffic with people going back into the workplace more regularly.”

To learn more, watch the recording of Jonathan’s full webinar and be sure to sign up to receive At Work: the 2022 workplace trends report when it’s available in early March.