It may seem controversial to say this, considering the passionate debate raging across business and property media pages, but here goes: hybrid working was already “a thing” before COVID-19.
The changing relationship between people and the office was already developing due to a multitude of interrelated reasons. This shift manifested in workplace designs, corporate real estate plans, and employment contracts worldwide for years.
Access to larger, more diverse, and more skilled workforces - coupled with the increasingly high cost of office rent – had been pushing the hybrid agenda for years. But, as always, business decisions boil down to two things - people and profit, with the former being the key resource in generating the latter.
The Office Mandate Rebellion
While increasing numbers of organisations are implementing five-day in-office mandates, these decisions are causing revolt amongst many workforces. More and more organisations are taking this approach, with groups as wide-ranging as Amazon and the NSW State Government leading the charge to return their people to the office full-time.
As this debate about right and wrong, flexibility and rigidity, continues to rage, fascinating research on grey reality is emerging from across the world. Studies such as the Centre for Cities' “Return to the Office” (Sept 2024) compare trends in major cities like Sydney, London, New York, Toronto, Singapore, and Paris, highlighting the global nuances in post-COVID working patterns.
Sydney’s Hybrid Work Standing
As of September 2024, Sydney ranks on the lower end of the global return to work scale, averaging 2.8 days per week. Interestingly, this number is from a lower pre-Covid base of 3.6 days. Lower than other cities, Australia has been a leader globally in new workplace strategies over the preceding decade. The other global cities in the study averaged between 3.9 and 4.0 days per week pre-COVID, but London and Toronto have since seen the largest falls, now both sitting at 2.7 days per week. Paris sits on top at 3.5 days per week, with New York reaching an average of 3.1 days per week.
The Varied Patterns of Office Return
The percentage share of workers attending the office five days a week is greatest in New York (31%) and Singapore (29%), while Toronto leads in remote work, with 25% attending 0 days per week. Sydney, on the other hand, shows the most balanced share of attendance across the spectrum of 0-5 days, with:
- 0 days: 15%
- 1 day: 8%
- 2 days: 15%
- 3 days: 23%
- 4 days: 18%
- 5 days: 17%
The big question remains: does this data signal that Sydney has developed the most mature and balanced global approach to working styles, or does it suggest that the Harbour City is still searching for its new normal in the post-pandemic world?