To 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%.
