Less than one in five in Melbourne work a whole week in office, study finds

New data has revealed the huge battle one major city is facing to get its workers back into the office.

Less than one in five employees based in Melbourne’s CBD are spending five days a week in the office, a new study has found.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in its Melbourne CBD Return to Office Survey for December, has found 19 per cent of CBD-based employees are journeying into the city each business day, with the majority still working at home two days a week or more.

Paul Guerra, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, said the study still showed a clear increase in office attendances.

A new study has found workers are returning to Melbourne’s CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“As well as the lifting of restrictions, employees are saying they are returning to the office because of the opportunity to reconnect with people, including collaborating with colleagues, networking, events and dining,” Mr Guerra said.

“Being in the office means they can work face-to-face with their teams, share ideas, attend work events and enjoy everything else the CBD has to offer,” he said.

According to the study, working three days a week in the office proved to be the most popular arrangement for CBD-based workers, with the model currently used by 34 per cent of those surveyed.

Less than one in five CBD-based employees have returned to full-time office work in Melbourne, a Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry report has found. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

There are 40 per cent of workers who are spending two days a week or less in the office, while seven per cent are still failing to come into the office at all.

The study found more than 50 per cent of businesses had introduced required minimum numbers of days to work from the office, and highlighted that 70 per cent of businesses did not expect workers to return to work full-time.

It comes as a Property Council of Australia report found Melbourne’s office occupancy rate to be among the worst in the nation.

The report found office occupancy had reached 57 per cent in November, an increase from 45 per cent the previous month, but still behind Sydney (59 per cent), Brisbane (67 per cent), Adelaide (74 per cent) and Perth (80 per cent).

Originally published as Less than one in five in Melbourne work a whole week in office, study finds