Workers are only turning up in Sydney CBD three days a week – but weekends and nights are going off

Workers are refusing to return to Sydney’s CBD, leaving ­experts divided as to whether the city should change to reflect the “new normal” or force people back into the office.

Workers are refusing to return to Sydney’s CBD, leaving ­experts divided as to whether the city should change to reflect the “new normal” or force people back into the office.

The latest DSpark report showed that just 73 per cent of Sydney’s workers have returned to the CBD, compared to 2019 numbers. That makes it the second least-recovered city across the nation for CBD workers post-pandemic, ­behind only Melbourne.

However, the report also showed Sydney had recovered more than any of the other cities for weekend visitors, with weekend traffic now at 115 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

It’s led to calls by the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) – which commissioned the report – to shift public transport timetables, parking facilities and repurpose offices to cater for the “new normal”.

But executive director of Business Sydney Paul Nicolaou said that is a little hasty, and instead wanted to see more workers encouraged to return to the office.

Hungry Bean Cafe owner Marino Plagiotis has had to adapt his business post-Covid. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It is excellent to see that the city has become a weekend hotspot,” he said. “However, we must not put up the white flag on getting Sydney humming again Monday to Friday.

“Let’s certainly adapt to current realities, but that doesn’t mean having to accept that the CBD can’t get its mojo back as a vibrant 24/7 global city.”

Sydney CBD workers (from left) Rachel James, Marco Masciotra and Laura Gallagher on a lunch break. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

TTF CEO Margy Osmond said the figures certainly demonstrated “a committed change in behaviour”.

“I think you’re fast approaching the point where you really got to say this is the new normal, so we have to accommodate it,” she said.

“Maybe it’s time to rethink all of that public transport mindset about how people get in and out of the city, and when peaks really are.”

Ms Osmond added that there was a marked increase in interest for the arts when people visit on the weekend.

“Rather than being a place you just go to work, people are seeing (Sydney) as a significant destination in its own right,” she said.

Cafe owner Marino Plagiotis is one business owner who has had to adapt. He has decided to move his store, the Hungry Bean Cafe, to a different location and change his business hours, replacing wasted hours on Monday and Friday with late night and weekends.

“The corporate sector is not coming back five days a week, it’s really more three days,” he said. “But a lot of people already in the area really want us open at night.”

Mr Plagiotis said working weekends opens his business up to opportunities such as events, including Vivid.

But Mr Plagiotis said weekday rents should also reflect the lack of foot traffic.

Lawyers Laura Gallagher and Marco Masciotra, and practice manager Rachel James, have all been working in the city since Covid.

“There’s still a gap: Nowhere near as busy,” Ms Gallagher said. “(But) you get a lot more invites to these big social events and get-togethers on a weekend or a Friday night.”

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