The delta variant has thrown a major wrench into New York companies’ plans to bring their workers back to the office.

Employers now anticipate that only 41% of their office workers will be back by Sept. 30, according to the latest survey of major companies from the Partnership for New York City. The survey was conducted between Aug. 9 and Aug. 20. The figure is down significantly from a Partnership survey in late May, when employers expected 62% of their workers back by the end of September, and the decrease is largely because of the delta variant, the organization said.

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“The resurgence of the pandemic and the breakthrough infections among vaccinated people are having a big impact on people’s willingness to come back into public places, including the workplace,” Partnership President and CEO Kathryn Wylde said.

Several companies now see 2022 as a more likely time to get many of their employees back to the office, with employers telling the Partnership they expect 76% of office workers back by the end of January.

The recent increase in COVID-19 cases because of the delta variant has caused 44% of employers surveyed to postpone their return-to-office plans, the survey found. Of those employers, 42% pushed their plans back for a month or less, 18% pushed them back for between two and three months, 10% pushed them back for three or more months, and 28% are evaluating their plans on a continuing basis.

There are still more Manhattan office employees back in their workspaces now than there were during the spring at 23%, up from 12% in late May, the survey found. Companies in every industry said office occupancy had gone up from May to August, with 85% of real estate employees, 29% of financial services employees and 26% of consulting employees back in the office. These numbers are up from 70%, 14% and 9% in May, respectively.

Multiple companies have been enacting stricter vaccination policies recently. Major real estate firms, including the Durst Organization and The Related Cos. have announced that, with limited exceptions, their employees will need to either get the COVID-19 vaccine or find a new job.

The Partnership survey found that 81% of employees at the companies that responded are vaccinated, and 58% of companies that disclosed their vaccination policies are requiring their workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

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