The return of Comcast employees to the office signals a noteworthy moment in Philadelphia’s pandemic recovery, bringing thousands of people back into Center City after more than two years of working from home. Comcast employees’ return “is a significant impact,” said Paul Levy, president of the Center City District. “It’s great they’ve come back. It’s important to set the standard” for other employers.
Concessions giant Aramark said all employees are now “fully back” in the office, at its new 2400 Market St. headquarters. The company said its approximately 900 employees are working “here in our headquarters. And no mandated days, we’re a full work-from-office company,” according to a spokeswoman.FMC Tower, across the river, has approximately 500 employees working at the chemical company, and finished bringing everyone back to the office in mid-July 2021. “We have a two-day-a-week flex allowance that many of our employees use to work from home, so our actual in-office population varies day to day,” said a company spokesperson in an email.SEPTA’s ridership also increased by approximately 5% to over 476,000 one-way trips the week ending Sept. 14, said spokesman Andrew Busch. That’s still about half of pre-COVID levels.
Excerpts taken from Rin Arvedlund, Inquirer Published September 18,2022