Recent data via public transportation records and company polls indicate that despite employees' preferences for remote work, more NYC employees are returning to work in-person. While office attendance remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, it has increased since Labor Day as employers have begun to encourage employees to come back into the office. There has been a shift in the power dynamic between employers and employees due to high inflation, which has weakened the economy, and a labor market that is less favorable to workers than it was a few months ago. Companies have begun to wield this power to bring workers back into the office per the requests of managers.
See "US employees returning to the office despite continued preference for remote and hybrid work ", Jack Kelly, Forbes, September 20, 2022