Aussies fire up at Government’s ‘Let’s Go Work From Work’ poster as new WFH study released

A simple five-word slogan has rubbed thousands of Aussies the wrong way as the government ramps up a new work campaign.

A government poster encouraging Aussies to ditch their work from home arrangements and return to the office has been slammed as “tone deaf”.

The Victorian Government advert, which feature the slogan “Let’s Go Work From Work” and a man wearing a mask, was spotted in a Melbourne train station this week.

But the initiative rubbed thousands of people the wrong way, with a photo of the poster attracting a wave of critical comments on Reddit.

A majority of people on the thread pointed out the hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of dollars they had saved in commuting fees during the Covid pandemic, including avoiding hours spent in traffic or packed buses and trains.

“Convert it all into residential space for those that choose to work in the CBD, or for legitimate reasons still have to. Free up some houses in suburbia. No-one should have to travel more than 10-15 minutes for work. Who wants to be a sardine for 2-3hrs a day?,” wrote one fed-up worker.

Others mentioned the skyrocketing prices of food in the CBD, while some claimed they were far more productive in their role when they were free of “distractions in the office”.

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The Victorian Government has been posting signs encouraging workers to return to the city.

Critics also mentioned the burgeoning pressure on businesses to justify lengthy leases on expensive CBD office spaces as part of the corporate push for workers to return to their desks.

“Why would I spend an hour of my day commuting and paying around $15 in fares for the privilege of having a five-minute task take 20 minutes due to all the distractions in the office?” one user commented.

Some recommended making public transport cheaper, or scrap fares entirely, to encourage more office time.

“WFH was clearly one of the few silver linings. Why on earth are they trying to change it all back? To justify the empty office spaces?” one user said.

The outrage comes after a new study revealed how Australians have responded to over two years of remote working, with results indicating a vast majority of employees who adapted to their Covid-imposed WFH lifestyle have greatly benefited from the shift.

A major review by the Productivity Commission released late last year found the percentage of Australians working from home had risen from 8 per cent to 40 per cent over the pandemic.

The push to retain the freedom of flexibility offered by work from home arrangements has mounted in recent months as governments and workplaces urge the importance of returning to office spaces.

Countless Aussies have benefited from exiting the rat race with the freedom to work outside major cities.

A further study was taken after the government dissolved work-from-home directions in early 2022, analysing over 1,400 workers in a variety of work arrangements.

The results, collaborated by The Conversation, indicated a majority (54 per cent) of employees are currently in a hybrid work model. One in four people said they were still working remotely full-time with just 22.9 per cent working in the office full-time.

The results indicated those with the most flexibility to work from where it was most convenient were the most satisfied, with 94 per cent of full-time remote workers saying they were “very happy with this arrangement”.

When asked to choose their ideal arrangement, the most popular choices were having control over the location where they work and when (23.0 per cent), closely followed by working remotely full-time (22.8%).

Almost one third (30.2 per cent) of workers said they now have a better work-life balance than they did two years ago, compared with less than one in ten (8.7 per cent) who think it has worsened.

On the flip side, several existing businesses in previously-packed areas of Australia’s major cities have taken a serious hit. Decreased foot traffic has put extra strain on CBD cafes and retail outlets after experiencing two years of on-again, off-again Covid-19 restrictions.

While it may not be for everyone, studies say productivity is generally unharmed by rising levels of employees working remotely.

Productivity Commission chair Michael Brennan said while remote working wasn’t for everyone, the freedom to choose where to work was unlikely to impact the bottom line.

He said at this stage, it is “unlikely that most of the people who are now working from home are those who do it poorly”.

“Some people are more productive working from home, some people are less productive working from home,” Mr Brennan said via the ABC.

“But I think the main thing is that, at an economy-wide level, I think there are good grounds for optimism that productivity is unlikely to fall overall.”

Originally published as Aussies fire up at Government’s ‘Let’s Go Work From Work’ poster as new WFH study released