Watercoolers Become RTO Measure as Remote-Work Debate Rages
The volume of water dispensed to office buildings mirrors a nationwide office-occupancy index.
Workers at the Bank of Montreal office in New York.
Photographer: Ismail Ferdous/BloombergTo get an idea of how many people are back in the office, just check the watercoolers.
The amount of water dispensed in machines sold by Bevi — a Boston-based startup that provides Internet-connected coolers to more than 5,000 businesses across the US — mirrors the office occupancy rates tracked by security firm Kastle Systems throughout the pandemic. In 2021, when the delta and omicron variants of Covid-19 gripped the nation, Bevi’s machines were operating at 28% of pre-pandemic levels for the full year, in line with Kastle’s 30% return-to-office rate. Last year, as offices slowly reopened, the figures increased in tandem, to just over 40%.