I spoke to a friend in New York last week who tells me his company is starting to return, and they have up to 50 per cent of staff back in their office, but it remains patchy across most of NYC. And then I’m sure we all caught the directive that Elon Musk gave his employees about working in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week. Effective immediately and unquestionably clear!

Every city and every company is doing it differently. In Melbourne, weeknights and weekends have bounced back with theatre shows sold out, restaurants booked out and fans returning to sporting events in large numbers.

But the 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday scene continues to be slow as the return to the office seemingly stagnates.

To help us all understand what is actually happening, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry undertook the first detailed survey of CBD-based offices on the return to their workplace since restrictions were lifted. The Chamber canvassed small, medium and large office-based businesses across a range of sectors.

We all make assumptions based on what we see, hear and experience but what’s the real story and how do we help? We asked our members to provide a clear picture of behaviors, motivations and any emerging trends to help us identify the impact on CBD businesses as we think about and plan for what the city will look like in a post-COVID-19 world.

The survey found that 42 per cent of employees are working in the office one to two days each week, 25 per cent are working three to four days at their desks, while 19 per cent are coming in five days a week. Fourteen per cent of employees have not returned to the office at all since restrictions were lifted.

It also found that 39 per cent of businesses have not implemented a required minimum number of days employees must work from the office, and 22 per cent have asked that workers come in a minimum of three days.

Perhaps not surprisingly, 34 per cent of respondents said work-life balance was the main reason for not returning to the office, followed by length of commute (29 per cent) and fear of contracting COVID-19 (15 per cent), while 69 per cent indicated they do not expect employees to return full-time to the office.

Finally, 48 per cent of businesses said they’d seen an increase in productivity when employees work from the office, compared to 52 per cent who have not noticed any difference.

What’s encouraging is that people are coming back to the office and embracing the social connection and enhanced collaboration and learning that in-person working offers. It’s also good for our CBD businesses – cafes, salons, shops, dry-cleaners, restaurants, gyms - which rely on the increased football.

As a manager there is good reason for implementing a true hybrid arrangement. It helps staff with work-life balance, enables both females and males to participate in the workforce, and it will cut commute times on most days. But its important for both a collabration purpose and mental health purpose that staff do come together in their work environment. It's difficult to spot mental health decline from behind a computer screen, and the energy we get from other people can help us through some difficult periods. In addition, the acceleration of learning is undeniable in office based environment.

As we head further into winter, it may be some time before we know exactly where the level of office-based working will settle. The survey tells us that people want flexibility and that’s what a lot of businesses are offering. We believe it’s up to individual businesses to determine their working arrangements and it's clear this is happening. 

Every business will do it differently, as they should. Some will be like Elon's Tesla, some will embrace hybrid, and some have already returned as they can only do their job from their office.

The data we collected from the survey shines a light on what businesses and employees are dealing with and helps other businesses plan and we will continue to monitor these trends over the coming months as it will ultimately shape the future of our city.

As you make plans, consider your staff, your work needs and also the impact on the cafes, hairdressers etc that rely on customers to survive as well. The clearer indication we can give those businesses about our movements the better they can plan for their future too.

I suspect we will learn a lot over the next few months, before we see where the CBD settles. I'm optimistic about the future of our CBD, and I know we have the ability to lead the way for other cities to follow. Together, we will find a way.

This article appeared in the Herald Sun on Monday June 6, 2022