Indianapolis downtown’s largest employers bet on hybrid work with many employees working from both home and office

When Cummins Inc. opened its global distribution headquarters downtown, the gleaming, nine-story structure was expected to house about 250 of the Columbus-based engine maker’s employees, with room to grow to as many as 450.

But that was in 2017, three years before the pandemic would change the way companies and employees viewed working in the office.

Today, the building—which Cummins paid more than $30 million to construct—is operating at only 25% to 30% capacity, a company executive said.

And that’s not unusual. In fact, the total number of times workers visited downtown offices last year was 38% lower than in 2109, according to Placer.ai, which calculated the figures using proprietary location intelligence from smartphones, laptops and other devices.

Cummins has given employees flexibility to work remotely indefinitely, which it said has allowed it to retain its workforce and attract new employees.

“When the pandemic hit, Cummins, like many organizations, had to figure out how to adjust and operate within that reality,” said Marvin Boakye, Cummins’ chief human resources officer. “And we are learning a lot about how we operate in this space here.”

Other companies are making similar adjustments.

Rolls-Royce, the aircraft-engine maker with a big local office and manufacturing presence, said it is “embracing hybrid work in the post-pandemic era,” which allows many of its 3,300 workers in Indianapolis to work in the office three days a weeks and two days remotely.

The United Kingdom-based company said it remains committed to downtown Indianapolis and recently signed a 10-year lease at Meridian Center, a complex at 450 W. Henry St. where it leases one building, down from three it occupied before the pandemic.

“The remote part of the hybrid environment means employees can focus intently when they need to, outside of the office, and also offers the work flexibility which employees have really appreciated during their remote work experience,” Candice Bineyard, Rolls-Royce’s director of defense programs, told IBJ.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co., one of downtown’s largest employers with about 10,000 workers here, said it plans to continue to require many of its office employees to work from the office at least three days a week, allowing them to work remotely the other days.

“We are confident that we’re on the right path by prioritizing connection while offering workplace flexibility for those whose job requirements support it,” the Indianapolis-based company said in a statement.

Indianapolis-based Elevance Health Inc., the huge health insurer formerly known as Anthem Inc., with more than 5,000 Indiana employees, told IBJ it has been redesigning and reconfiguring its offices to serve as collaboration spaces for greater flexibility, allowing its office staff to continue working on a hybrid work model.

And AES Indiana, the electric utility formerly known as Indianapolis Power & Light Co., which has occupied an office tower on Monument Circle since the 1930s, said it requires its 290 headquarters employees to work in the office about two days a week.

But Kristina Lund, the Arlington, Virginia-based utility’s Indiana president, said she is taking another look at that approach.

“I would expect we’re going to adjust that policy going forward,” she said, “in favor of more togetherness.”