How much time do you really need to spend in the office?
At this week's Australian Financial Review Future Briefings event, experts pondered where staff will do their best work when the world goes back to 'normal'.
Atlassian futurist Dominic Price believes workers should spend about 20 per cent of their time in the office where they can collaborate on the most complex problems. Louise Kennerley
Business leaders around the world are coming to the conclusion they don't need all office workers to actually be in the office to achieve their revenue and profit targets. The giant working-from-home experiment has shown that staff can be just as productive – if not more productive – working remotely. And the majority of employees, it seems, can be trusted.
But by the same token, few CEOs back a full WFH model, which begs the question: when social distancing rules ease and the world goes back to "normal", what is the optimal amount of time employees should spend in the workplace, where they can bounce ideas off each other in person and engage in the all-important water cooler chat?
Sally PattenBOSS editorSally Patten edits BOSS, and writes about workplace issues. She was the financial services editor and personal finance editor of the AFR, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She edited business news for The Times of London. Connect with Sally on Twitter. Email Sally at spatten@afr.com
