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The Great NSW Office Return From 1 July: Keen To Get Back Or Nah?

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that as of 1 July, business employees would be officially able to return to work at the office or store with larger-scale events also now possible. So how are you feeling about a return to the office?

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that as of 1 July, business employees would be officially able to return to work at the office or store with larger-scale events also now possible. So how are you feeling about a return to the office?

The last four months of COVID-19 have shown us that working from home is not only possible en masse but beneficial for numerous reasons we hadn’t previously considered because we’d never properly had the chance or approval to try it.

If you’d been working from home or remotely as an agent or office employee for a time before the pandemic hit, you’re probably reading this and thinking “well duh” – which is fair enough. Maybe just skip the next couple of paragraphs.

For the newly enlightened of us though, the benefits have included more time to spend with loved ones thanks to a commute free workday, more productivity due to fewer meetings and distractions and yes, feeling healthier with more time to exercise and even being able to wear our PJ’s if we choose rather than being forced to wear the daily ‘corporate uniform’ society expects of us.

For so many, that’s flexibility and freedom right there.

On the flip side, employers have learned that aside from saving money in rent and office costs, they can trust their employees to do the right thing and often be more effective by utilising video conferencing apps such as Zoom or FaceTime for all manner of communication and tasks, from training to selling and even enjoying the Friday drinks together.

Granted, it’ll never be the same as interacting in-person, but it’s been the next best thing in a highly unusual time and has worked to keep our spirits lifted and our minds efficiently focussed of a sort.

But what now? All of this ‘new way of working’ has led to more questions than answers in terms of what the new working arrangement should look like and how we should begin to resume some kind of normality in the workplace.

Gervais Brent

From July 1, all businesses, including cinemas, theatres, performance halls, theme parks and showgrounds in NSW can reopen with the 4 square meters rule in place.

So will you be rushing back to the office?

With every office (including co-share spaces) having to apply a COVID safety plan, it seems that despite many enjoying working from home, an equal amount of employees are keen to get back into the office to get out of the house, away from the kids and the plus one (love them as we do) or just our own minds and reconnect again in person with colleagues and beyond.

If not everyday, for some days of the week at least.

Andy Buerckner, Director of Platinum Travel in Melbourne says:

“As a business owner, the thought of tearing up the leases on my company’s office spaces – and the hefty price tags that come with them – should fill me with joy. I should be quietly celebrating the mounting evidence that my team actually prefers working from home. Right? Right? Wrong.

Andy Buerckner, Director of Platinum Travel

Read on for his brilliant summary of his experience and ideas of what a new working arrangement could look like.

Clearly, the jury will be out for many with more individual flexibility needed to ensure a safe, holistically healthy and productive working agreement, whether that’s at home, in the office or a mixture of both.

Because as Andy Buerckner so rightly says “Working from home isn’t for everyone. I’m not sure it’s for me. But if you’re in the business of running a profitable business and hiring (and holding onto) the best staff, then you better be ready to have the conversation.”

Are you keen to get back to the office or not so much? What would you like to see changed as part of a working reset? Email us at editor@karryon.com.au and tell us about it.