With Victoria and New South Wales emerging from lockdown, but with cases still high, offices and employees are cautiously gearing up for the return to working-from-office.
Many of us been working from our own homes (at least in part) for the past 18 months now, since COVID restrictions made the switch necessary to avoid the spread of the virus.
However, this shake-up of work practices quickly became an experiment in flexible working styles that many companies would never have dreamed of if the pandemic hadn’t forced them to innovate.
With the return to work just around the corner, many organisations have been dabbling with flexible working arrangements, and even shorter work weeks, as the experiment appears to have paid off.
Productivity remains stable, and in some cases appears to have increased, while workers have benefited from being closer to loved ones, particularly those who are caring for children.
While office work still offers unique benefits, like quick and easy collaboration along with the social bonding that comes from working alongside colleagues, it’s likely that we won’t be giving up WFH for good.
At least, that’s according to a new report that looks at 130 different organisations across Australia and has revealed that just over half of them are planning to structure their work week with two days from home.
The Committee for Sydney — a think tank that focuses on universities, hospitality organisations, construction, and entertainment businesses — has found that 51% of employers are planning to have their staff in for three days a week moving forward. Just over a third of those will structure their work week with Tuesday to Friday in the office.
Only 7% of bosses said that they would expect their staff to be in the office at pre-pandemic levels, five days a week.
Because Committee for Sydney believes that the change in urban working populations will be different post-pandemic, with fewer workers in the city on a Monday and a Friday, they write that this should be taken into consideration when planning public transport strategies.
Cheaper pricing on those days could incentivise workers to come into the city as this would help small businesses that provide services to workers.
Looks like Thursday really is the new Friday.
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