While Australia’s work-from-home debate has increasingly become a tug-of-war between office and home, there is a growing number of employers who’ve found a middle ground, providing the best of both worlds for both their workers and their business.
Following the pandemic, Australia saw a seismic shift in the way people worked, and new data shows more than six million people are working from home, at least some of the time.
Yet tensions persist. Many employers are doubling down to get workers back in person, while unions are pushing back.
The Australian Services Union recently requested “presumed” work-from-home arrangements and 26 weeks’ notice before employees must return to the office, as part of a Fair Work Commission review.
The Victorian government is now planning to introduce laws giving employees the legal right to work from home two days a week .
But under the surface, there’s been a quieter, voluntary move from tens of thousands of workers into offices or co-working spaces known as “shared workspaces”.
Major employers like printing company Brother offers the option of co-working spaces to its 85 staff across Australia. (ABC News)
Jessie Glew, chief executive of WOTSO, which operates flexible office and co-working spaces, says suburban hubs are booming.
The company has expanded from 14 locations in 2020 to 34 today, offering more than 7,000 desks across suburbs in Sydney, Gold Coast, and Canberra, as well as regional centres.
“In addition to SME’s [small medium enterprises] there is a growing group of larger businesses tapping into our network,” she said.
“Corporates are enabling staff to work from home, which is translating into people working near home and utilising our local spaces.”
Major companies take advantage of flexible workspaces
Shared space operators say major employers including Woolworths, CommBank and Canva are part of a growing trend of businesses that are now embracing co-working spaces, rather than the head office, for their workers.
Financial technology company Afterpay, alongside its parent company Block, has also embraced the work shift.
The Block’s newest office location in Sydney, is designed specifically for collaboration with other companies and universities, but its staff can also choose to work from suburban and regional co-working spaces. (Supplied)
Despite having two office hub locations in Melbourne and Sydney, where most of their employees go from one to three days per week, it’s also supporting staff who want to work from a shared workspace closer to home.
“Block takes a remote-friendly approach to work so our employees have the flexibility to decide where they’re most productive, whether that’s at home, in the office, or a mix of both,” Tim Halpin, Lead for Workplace Experience at Block, said.
The company said the flexible working arrangements helped “attract and retain talent, reduce commutes, and support diverse working styles”.
Regional operators of shared workspaces say there’s been a “massive” take-up of white collar workers, who are employed by private companies or government in co-working spaces.
Remote workers are paying for co-working space membership out of their own pocket because it saves them the cost of commuting (ABC News)
Kate Dezarnaulds, the founder of WorkLife and co-chair of Flexible Workspaces Australia, said around 40 per cent of workers using their regional spaces were salaried employees of major companies.
But she said only one in five of these workers were having their desk space paid for by their employer.
“That’s because the majority of employers don’t want to be paying for office space “three times”: the headquarters, a contribution to a work-from-home set up, and a membership to a shared space,” she said.
“The remote workers we have are paying for co-working space membership out of their own pocket because it is saving them hours and cost of commuting.
“For them, it stacks up and makes financial sense.”
Popularity grows in suburban and regional areas
Damian Sheehan leads flexible workspace company International Workplace Group (IWG), which is rapidly scaling its operations in Australia, particularly in suburban and regional locations.
It has 63 centres across all states and plans to have 200 centres within three years.
“We’re in the city, we’re in the city fringe and the suburbs are now expanding quite rapidly into regional towns, which is the most exciting part,” he said.
Recently, IWG opened flexible workspace locations in areas including the South Australian seaside town of Victor Harbour, and Queensland regional cities Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba.
Damian Sheehan from International Workplace Group (IWG) says they plan to have 200 centres within three years. (ABC News: John Gunn)
Research from IWG and global engineering consultancy Arup — to promote flexible workspaces — found its businesses in the UK and USA, which allowed teams to work in shared spaces locally, could boost productivity by 11 per cent over five years.
“We’re seeing employees that are working from those local flexible workspaces as opposed to working full time from home, are showing a 67 per cent increase in their own productivity,” Mr Sheehan said.
But David Bissell, a professor of human geography from the University of Melbourne, cautioned about assumptions made around productivity.
“The question of productivity is obviously a huge one and certainly it’s at the forefront of organisations and politicians’ minds here in Australia,” he said.
Companies say popularity is booming in suburbia and regional centres. (Supplied: Wotso)
“Productivity gains and savings in these studies are very often based on the time saved in commuting… and certainly in the research that we were doing, it revealed that we actually need to think about productivity much more widely.”
Professor Bissell pointed to the importance of “water cooler chat” in an office that can lead to the next big idea, or productivity gains in a “pin-drop” quiet home office that can be conducive to focused work.
“Trying to claim that shared spaces are the most optimal for productivity, I think, really overlooks the fact that there are many different types of productivity that are integral to the way that work gets done,” he said.
“Different spaces are conducive to different tasks and so geography matters once again.”
Professor David Bissell says shared spaces are an “intriguing antidote” to some work from home challenges, like cabin fever and loneliness. (ABC News: Andrew Ware)
‘I smash work out and go home’
New mum and NSW government employee Sam Harhagelis said the option of co-working at Bubba Desk — a network of shared workspaces that also provided daycare — was a no-brainer.
“I really have been able to go back to work a lot sooner than anticipated because I’m able to still breastfeed and be there for her milestones,” she said.
Ms Harghagelis, who lives on the NSW south coast, says the option of the shared space at Wollongong, ten minutes from her home, rather than a three-hour return commute to her office headquarters in Parramatta, has increased her productivity.
“There’s something about getting out of their house and putting on your ‘work hat’, getting dressed up, and interacting with other parents,” she said.
Sam Harhagelis says her productivity increased working at Bubba Desk. (ABC News)
“I think that my productivity has really increased being here.”
“So many of my friends who are also parents, commute into the office, which means they often need to leave work early to be able to make daycare pick up and then are logging in after their children are going to bed to smash out a few hours of work.
“[Bubba desk] has really made it possible for us to go home and completely switch off.”
Rosie Pritchard, based in regional NSW, works for a company with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Bendigo.
The project consultant initially embraced working from home but found it tricky to set boundaries between work and home life.
Rosie Pritchard says working at The Hive in Orange means far less distractions than working from home. (ABC News: Bronwyn Herbert)
With the support of her employer, she signed up to “The Hive”, in the central west regional centre of Orange.
“There are far less distractions here in a co-working space,” she said.
“I smash out work and go home.
“At home, you’re tempted to put a load of washing on or perhaps start dinner earlier in the day.”
She said it has also allowed her to have connection with other professionals.
“It’s been beneficial to be around other people and seeing them being productive as well,” she said.