Workers are returning to offices in inner Sydney as a handful of large companies, including big banks, tell employees to come back from their kitchen tables.
The corporate-led trend is observable in public transport usage figures that show a recent uptick in office returns. It marks a shift in working arrangements after Australians appeared to have largely settled into their new hybrid habits.
Analysis of train station data shows that foot traffic at Wynyard, a major inner-city station in Sydney, is at the highest level since February 2020, shortly before pandemic lockdowns upended office work.
Commuter numbers at a wider network of city stations, including Circular Quay, Martin Place, Museum, St James, Town Hall and Wynyard, have now returned to more than 70% of pre-pandemic levels, according to research firm Morningstar.
University of Sydney management expert Prof David Hensher said the surprising uptick was partly linked to the “command and control” styles of a small number of companies that are requiring full-time or near full-time office attendance.
But he warned of the potential negative effects of this management approach for both workers and companies.
“Commuting is one of the most stressful activities that we do and to reduce it to two or three days a week makes a huge difference to people’s wellbeing,” Hensher said.
“We also know that half of the time saved on commuting is converted into work time that benefits the employer and they need to know that.”
Back-to-office battles are occurring around the world, pitting business leaders looking to refill vacant offices and workers pushing against office mandates.
The US electric vehicle maker Tesla was one of the most prominent companies to enact an early return-to-office policy last year.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs and social media company Snap require full-time or near full-time office attendance, while Facebook owner Meta and entertainment conglomerate Disney have arrangements requiring a majority of work to be done at the office.
Some Australian companies, including National Australia Bank, require senior managers to work in the office while offering hybrid arrangements for other staff.
Nab’s chief executive, Ross McEwan, said the bank was a relationship business and those relationships were best delivered in person.
“We need to train and develop our teams to be the best they can in supporting our customers and colleagues,” McEwan said in a statement.
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“This is hard to do when you don’t have a leader beside you, which is why I’ve asked our most senior leaders back into the office five days a week.”
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said: “Based on our insights and recent experiences, from mid-July our office-based people will come into the office for at least 50% of their working time over the month.”
Many of Australia’s biggest financial institutions require about 50% attendance at the office for most employees, although it’s not unusual for senior managers to have to attend more often. Many of the new arrangements have recently been communicated to staff, in line with the uptick in public transport travel to nearby stations.
The increase will be welcomed by inner-city cafes and bars that have recorded a sharp decrease in sales compared with pre-pandemic conditions.
But the rise in office mandates rubs against the work arrangements many Australians had settled into just a few months ago.
Research conducted in March found that the average working Australian was spending 27% of their working hours at home. The number was almost identical to a survey conducted six months earlier, leading experts to believe it represented a peak return to office.
Hensher said there was a risk that one of the few good things to emerge from the pandemic – flexible work arrangements – would be lost if office demands kept expanding.
“I‘m really worried that we could end up back into this pre-Covid office environment, which was more stressful, less satisfying and really made no difference to productivity gains,” Hensher said.
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