Can California's office buildings accommodate its return-to-office mandate?

As tens of thousands of California state workers return to the office for four days a week, some experts question the adequacy of the state's office buildings to accommodate changing views on work environments. As Joe Burns explains in Smart Cities Dive, "Research in the years since workers started returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic shows workers and managers have changing views of what productive office environments look like."

A 2025 report from the California State Auditor said California could save as much as $225 million per year by letting employees only work in-office twice a week, allowing the state to shrink its office footprint by 30%. 

Additionally, changes in workers' expectations about flexible workplaces — and the gap between that and reality — could impact worker performance and give "employees a reason to disengage the moment they walk through the door," says Adam Morgan, co-founder of furniture and design company Bureau. "The question isn’t whether people show up, it’s whether the buildings are built for how people actually work," Morgan says.