As leaders navigate the evolving expectations of a post-pandemic workforce, a sobering reality has emerged: People won’t return to the office just because they’re asked.  

A growing body of evidence — including a recent in-depth analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago — shows that employees are choosier than ever about what office environments they’re willing to tolerate. To draw them back, employers must rethink the modern workspace. That means reining in ineffective trends like open floor plans and doubling down on amenities that actually work, such as free parking and private offices.

The data confirm it: What gets people in the door is not ping-pong tables or smoothie bars — it’s convenience, comfort and control. 

Free parking may not be flashy, but it’s effective. The Chicago Fed report found that vacancy rates for office spaces offering on-site free parking have dropped sharply across U.S. markets since 2020. In Detroit, vacancy rates in these properties “dropped from 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 1.3 percent in the final quarter of 2024.” Chicago saw a similar drop, from 8.4 percent to 3.6 percent.

Those are staggering numbers, especially in an era when overall office vacancy rates remain high — at 15.7 percent in Chicago and 12 percent in Detroit, respectively. Parallel surveys from CBRE show parking outpacing gyms, cafés and even transit proximity as the most-desired building amenity.  

These are not marginal improvements. They suggest that ease of access — particularly in car-dependent cities — is one of the most critical factors in workers’ willingness to return to the office.

Free parking eliminates a major logistical headache and financial burden, especially when downtown parking prices are high or public transit is unreliable. Unlike trend-driven amenities, parking speaks directly to the daily friction employees face. It’s the kind of infrastructure-level support that allows people to say yes to returning, not just out of obligation but because it makes their lives easier.

This pattern holds even within central business districts, where you might expect public transit or walkability to reduce the value of on-site parking. In reality, office properties in these areas that offered free parking already had lower vacancy rates before the pandemic and have only improved since. In other words, parking is not just a suburban benefit — it’s a competitive advantage everywhere. 

At the same time, the report highlights a sharp decline in the desirability of open office layouts.  

Once hailed as the future of collaborative work, open floor plans are now strongly associated with rising vacancy rates. In Detroit, properties with open floor designs saw their vacancy rate skyrocket from 5 percent in early 2019 to 30 percent by the end of 2024. In Chicago and across the broader U.S. market, the numbers tell a similar story, albeit at slightly lower levels: 27 percent for Chicago and 26 percent more broadly. Meanwhile, Harvard Business School research found that face-to-face interaction drops roughly 70 percent in open offices, and a survey by Clutch found that only 28 percent of American workers actually like open offices. 

The reasons are multifaceted. Pandemic-era concerns about disease transmission made dense, shared workspaces far less appealing. But even beyond health, the shift to remote and hybrid work has made employees more attuned to the conditions that foster deep focus and meaningful output. Open floor plans are often noisy, distracting and poorly suited to hybrid meetings where some participants are on video calls. Employees now expect the office to offer something their home workspace may lack — privacy, calm and the ability to focus without interruption.

This doesn’t mean the collaborative ideal is dead, but it does mean flexibility is key. Instead of forcing everyone into a single design mold, the modern office should provide a mix of shared spaces and enclosed areas. Workers want the option to choose how they work best, not be locked into a format that prioritizes visibility over productivity. 

Many companies have invested in on-site amenities like fitness centers or day care in hopes of sweetening the return-to-office deal. However, the Chicago Fed data reveals that these features have not had the effect employers had hoped for. Office properties with on-site fitness centers actually have higher than average vacancy rates, both nationally and in cities like Chicago and Detroit. Even Class A spaces — those typically associated with the newest, most premium offerings — have seen vacancy rates climb in buildings with gyms.

The same is true for on-site day care, despite its importance for working parents. Although it remains a valuable support for some, the amenity alone hasn’t been enough to significantly reduce vacancies. This suggests that although these offerings can be helpful, they’re not decisive. Employees prioritize basic work-life logistics, like commuting, parking and personal workspace, over ancillary perks.

In short, companies looking to reinvest in office infrastructure should focus first on the fundamentals. If an amenity doesn’t address a clear and present friction in the employee experience, it’s unlikely to move the needle. 

Interestingly, even building age and renovation status don’t consistently correlate with lower vacancy rates. One might assume that newer or recently renovated buildings would perform better, but that’s not always the case. In fact, many buildings constructed or refurbished after 2018 have seen rising vacancy rates in recent years, despite initial gains. In Chicago, post-2018 renovations saw vacancy rates jump from 11.9 percent to 23.6 percent — a near doubling in just five years. 

This reinforces the idea that superficial upgrades or architectural freshness can’t overcome deeper design misalignments or inconvenient locations. What matters more than aesthetics is whether the space meets today’s hybrid work demands: accessibility, autonomy and adaptability. 

The findings from the Chicago Fed make it abundantly clear that returning to the office isn’t about gimmicks. It’s about creating environments that work for people. Leaders should stop trying to lure employees back with trend-chasing amenities and instead ask, “What makes it easier to be here than at home?”

Start with parking. Reconsider the open floor plan. Invest in acoustic privacy, reliable technology for hybrid collaboration, and layout choices that reflect different work styles. These aren’t luxuries — they’re the new baseline for what makes an office viable in today’s work culture. 

The path forward isn’t complex, but it does require focus. If you are serious about attracting your team back, meet them where they are — behind the wheel, looking for a parking spot, and hoping they won’t spend the day in a noisy fishbowl. Give them ease, privacy and purpose, and they just might stay. 

Gleb Tsipursky, Ph.D., serves as the CEO of the hybrid work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts and authored the best-seller “Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams.”