Fears working from home could turn Sydney into a part-time city

Working from home in Sydney is neglecting a future generation of corporate leaders, the city’s business lobby says. Do you think it’s time for working from home to end? Vote in our poll.

Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolaou wants people to work at the office. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Working from home is turning Sydney into a “part-time city” and neglecting a future generation of corporate leaders, the city’s business lobby says.

Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolaou said if the city of Sydney wants to be considered as Australia’s number one city, then all who are capable of working on site should do so.

“Sydney cannot be a part-time city, we’ve got to be full-time,” he said.

“We need the dry cleaners, newsagencies, cafes and restaurants because if we’re going to be the number one city in Australia and the number one city in the Asia/Pacific, we can’t be part-time.”

Mr Nicolaou pointed to the next generation of business leaders and highlighted how working from home could tamper with their success.

“The next generation of business leaders need to be in the office because they’re not going to learn from teams or zooms,” he said.

“We need to encourage the next generation of people to come in, meet, engage and collaborate.

“You want people to come into work because it adds to the economy, collegiality, connectivity and networking that you want in your staff and you want in your team.

“And working from home doesn’t give you that opportunity.”

Mr Nicolaou is fearful Sydney will become a part-time city.

Mr Nicolaou said working from home also has the potential to create an imbalance among frontline workers.

“Why should white-collar workers have that advantage over the cleaner, tradie, police officer, nurse or teacher,” he aksed.

“They can’t work from home, they can’t do their stuff online, we don’t want to create a situation where it’s us vs them.”

But Karen Hillen, from Hillen Staff Solutions, has a differing point of view. She says working from home can have its perks for both employees and businesses.

“Flexibility, an employee saves travel time so has work/life balance, savings on the cost of work travel (train/bus fares, petrol/tolls), if the work isn’t time-dependent, an employee can choose when to complete the work, reducing stress by not dealing with the daily commute,’’ she said.

“(It’s also good) for employers with smaller office space so savings on rent expenses. (They could) possibly reach a wider pool of applicants if an employee doesn’t have to come to the office (and) higher productivity as employees are happy and more engaged ... and such an employer could be seen as an “Employer of Choice”.

While falling short of calling for a mandatory return to work, Labor councillor Linda Scott says Sydney should have an entertainment precinct to encourage more people to get back into the office.

“I love Sydney, but she doesn’t quite have the spring back in her step post Covid,” she said.

“Great global cities are attracting residents and workers back with fun: cultural events, street festivals, great restaurants and public spaces to play.

“Rather than forcing our workers to return, I’m focussed on working with State and Federal Labor Governments to bring Sydney back for the better... I’m for a CBD entertainment precinct, and for other innovations to bring fun back to Sydney.”

Originally published as Fears working from home could turn Sydney into a part-time city