2022 U.S. Nonprofit Office Benchmarking Survey

Most organizations have already returned or are planning to return to the office.

More than half, 57%, of nonprofits surveyed are already back in the office in some form, a sign that the office remains vital for many organizations. A further 34% plan to require office attendance by Q2 2022. By contrast, only 8% of organizations plan to eliminate their physical office entirely and work fully virtual.

Notably, small organizations seem to be pacesetters. Small nonprofits (25 or fewer employees) are leading the return to the office, with over half, 56%, already back when surveyed, compared with 40% for medium-sized organizations (26-100 employees) and 47% for large entities (more than 100 employees). Small nonprofits are also the most willing to go fully virtual, 11%, compared to 7% and 5%, respectively, for medium and large groups.

Figure 1: What date have you communicated to your employees as to when they will be required to return to work?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

Employees want a hybrid work arrangement.

Most nonprofit employees, like other office workers, prefer hybrid work arrangements going forward. Eight in 10 nonprofits report that their employees want to work in the office at least some time each week, with only 16% reporting employee support for fully virtual work. These findings suggest that most workers want to maintain the option of going into the office, even if they don’t use it every day.

Figure 2: What is the general sentiment of most of your employees regarding returning to the office?

Nonprofits are embracing hybrid work.

Given their employees’ desire to work virtually for some portion of the week—and the possibility that a future resurgence of COVID-19 could again disrupt office operations—most nonprofits have embraced the hybrid work model. Sixty-two percent of employers require some, but not full, in-office work, while a third, 32%, allow their employees to work at home as much as they prefer. Only 6% require or are planning to require fully in-office work. With more nonprofits set to reopen their offices, this is a trend to watch closely in the near term.

Figure 3: How are you, as an employer, modifying your organization's policy work-from-home policy to address your employee's sentiment as it relates to returning to work?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

Most nonprofits require vaccinations.

Two-thirds of nonprofits report that they are requiring employees who return to the office to be fully vaccinated (Figure 4). For unvaccinated employees who wish to return to the office, one-third of organizations mandate regular testing (Figure 5).

With the trajectory of the virus improving and local regulations evolving, many organizations will likely update their protocols and policies, including their in-office attendance plans, in the coming weeks and months.

Figure 4: For employees returning to the office, are you requiring employees to be vaccinated?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

Figure 5: For those employees who are not vaccinated and want to work in the office, is your organization requiring mandatory regular testing?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

A third of nonprofits report a weaker culture amid the pandemic.

Most nonprofits report that their culture either stayed the same (44%) or weakened (32%) during the pandemic, evidence of the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 on all aspects of society. Only about a quarter of respondents report a stronger culture.

Figure 6: How has your company culture been impacted during the pandemic?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

An opportunity exists to explore how company culture can impact employee sentiment on returning to the office.

To discover whether any relationship exists between culture and attitudes toward returning to the office, we segmented the employee sentiment data by how organizations report that the pandemic affected their company culture.

Among those organizations reporting a weaker culture, 16% of their people want to mostly or fully work in the office, and 75% want to work primarily at home. By contrast, nonprofits reporting a stronger culture report that 27% of their employees prefer to work most or all the time in the office, and 58% prefer to work primarily at home.

Nonprofits who report a weaker culture should seek to understand employee sentiment about returning to the office and take steps to ensure that their workplace enhances a strong culture.

Figure 7: Sentiment of employees returning to the office, segmented by company culture

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

Half of nonprofits expect changes to their office footprint in the next three years.

Fifty-one percent of nonprofits report that they expect their office footprint to generally remain the same over the next three years. Notably, 39% anticipate that their footprint will shrink in the next three years, with 22% expecting a decrease of at least 30%. Of the roughly 10% of nonprofits that report they plan to expand their footprint, the majority (59%) are comprised of 25 or fewer employees.

CBRE anticipates that those nonprofits planning changes will begin to evaluate portfolio optimization strategies to accommodate their future workplace and workforce needs.

Figure 8: Which of the following best describes your expectations regarding your organization's office footprint over the next three years?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.

Nonprofit decision-makers are seeking benchmarking, hybrid workplace insights.

Among nonprofit real estate decision-makers, benchmark data from other organizations and future predictions around the hybrid work model were the two primary areas where they sought more support and education. These responses suggest that most organizations are in the planning stages of their future workplace strategies, as they report less interest in implementation steps like change management, cost reduction and addressing long-term leases.

Figure 9: In what areas do you feel you need more support or education?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.
Note: Respondents could select multiple responses.

This survey received more than 350 responses from real estate decision-makers at nonprofits of all types and sizes across the U.S. Organizational size was determined based on how many employees worked in the office before the pandemic.

Figure 10: How many employees worked in your office pre-pandemic?

Source: CBRE Nonprofit Practice, Q4 2021.