Comcast will soon require most workers to be in the office 4 days a week

And then there was one ... remote work day.

After almost a year of working on a hybrid schedule with three days per week in the office, Comcast is planning to expand in-office time to four days per week starting in the fall, according to a company spokesperson.

The decision was based on observations from the past year of hybrid work, and a desire to provide more opportunities for collaborative work, in-person meetings, and mentorship, the spokesperson said.

Office-based employees have been expected to come in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays since September. The new policy requires four days in the office, and the specific days will be decided between employees and their managers based on their teams’ needs, the spokesperson said.

Comcast will also allow flexibility for employees and their managers to adjust in-office schedules for individual needs, such as child-care arrangements, and special circumstances, the spokesperson added.

Comcast’s two Center City buildings, at 1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd. and 1800 Arch St., are the primary work location for about 8,000 employees.

When the company rolled out its hybrid work policy last year, leadership had already analyzed roles to determine which ones most needed in-office time, and designated thousands of jobs as virtual home-office positions. Before the pandemic, very few jobs at Comcast had that designation, but now there are more than 25,000 such jobs at the company, said Bill Strahan, Comcast’s executive vice president of human resources, in an interview last month.

Comcast’s shift back to the office last year was widely seen as a signal to the rest of the local business community that in-office work would be part of the future. Foot traffic in Center City increased immediately.

In April, the average number of pedestrians in the Center City business district on a Tuesday was about 40,000 — roughly 15,000 more than it had been in April 2022 — according to a recent Center City District report. Foot traffic on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays was also up significantly from 2022, though it was down slightly on Fridays.

Paul Levy, president and CEO of Center City District, said he sees Comcast’s increase in office days as “a very positive sign” for Center City activity. He expects it will bring more business to retailers and restaurants, and will likely inspire other employers to bring people back into the office more.

“When a major firm like Comcast says they’re coming back, it gives a signal to other firms, even if they don’t do business with Comcast,” Levy said.

While downtown recovery has been steady, it’s not complete. The number of people downtown on an average day in May was 75% of May 2019 levels, and the office vacancy rate is nearly 20% (up from 12% in 2019). The prevalence of remote work has continued to plague the lunch business at Center City restaurants. Ridership on SEPTA Regional Rail is around half of what it was pre-pandemic, while it’s slightly higher for buses and lower for the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines.

Comcast has been in touch with SEPTA about the planned increase in in-office days, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.

“We’re thrilled any time we see an indication that more people are going to be on the system,” Busch said. “Every fare paid helps.”

SEPTA saw a significant dip in ridership as a result of the pandemic and with federal infrastructure money expiring next year, the transit agency is eager to attract more riders to increase revenue.

Busch said SEPTA has been in frequent contact with employers large and small in the city as part of their efforts to boost ridership. With three months to prepare for Comcast’s increase in foot traffic, he said, there will be time to discuss potential adjustments to service to meet their needs. Busch noted that SEPTA has already noticed some increase in the number of commuters on Mondays, but that hasn’t created a significant uptick in revenue for the transit system yet.

Marc Vetri, who opened Pizzeria Salvy in the Comcast Technology Center last month, said he expects another day of in-office presence to make a big difference for his business.

“Anything to boost vibrancy of the city and keep it humming is a great thing in my book,” Vetri said.