41% WFH, as bosses urge staff back to the city for a good cup of coffee

Some 41 percent of people with a job worked from home at least once a week in February 2021.

It compared with 24 per cent at least once a week before March 2020, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Head of Household Surveys, David Zago, said the latest Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey conducted from 12 – 21 February 2021, showed employed Australians expected work from home arrangements to continue throughout the year.

In the next six months, 47 per cent of employed Australians expected the amount of work from home to remain the same, 11 per cent expected a decrease and 8 per cent expected an increase.

The February survey came as the Leesman Index, the world’s largest benchmark for work, advised that staff are performing more highly as they come back into the office.

And it advised the staff are more inclined to want to return to more modern towers.

The boss of Lendlease has noted that that offices serve as a “clubhouse for culture” and if companies don’t have people in the office for most of the time problems can mount.

Lendlease chief executive of property for Australia Kylie Rampa says the developer had re-opened its offices at Sydney’s harbourside Barangaroo precinct.

“People just love being able to come back and have a really good cup of coffee,” she told The Australian.

But Rampa acknowledged helping workers making the shift back to work could see the eradication of previous overloaded office lift peak times that came with the traditional 9-5 shift.