Telstra CEO Andy Penn expects WFH to be a permanent fixture

Telstra boss Andy Penn says a survey of his workers reveals many want to spend a few days a week working from home even after the Covid-19 pandemic dissipates.

The reluctance of many office workers to return to city buildings has caused problems for CBD retailers. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Paul Jeffers

Telstra chief executive Andy Penn says he believes that even after Covid-19 recedes, people will prefer to work a few days from home to retain the work-from-home flexibility that emerged during the pandemic and now dominates the nation’s employment landscape.

Mr Penn, whose telecommunications giant employs almost 30,000 people, told Neil Mitchell on Melbourne 3AW radio on Wednesday that the company had surveyed its staff, with many workers hoping to only come into the office a few days a week.

“We have surveyed our staff and what they are telling us is that post, when we get through the current situation, that they probably want to work from home three days a week so we are definitely looking at a world of more permanent hybrid working,” he told 3AW.

Mr Penn said this would have a detrimental effect on cities, such as Melbourne, but that maybe “just the role of the city changes”.

The Telstra boss said he was currently in the Telstra office but that most staff were still at home.

“I am in the office today, I would still say that in the building we probably have less than half of our people back in the office today,” he said. “We were really working predominantly from home last week … they are certainly not all back yet but I would expect those numbers to increase assuming that things stay as they are in Victoria.”

But he added that even before Covid-19 hit early last year, many staff were already enjoying the benefits of working from home for part of the week.

“Even before the Covid restrictions came in place on average our people were working from home 1.7 days a week,” he said.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn. Picture: Aaron Francis

The reluctance of many office workers to return to their city buildings or, given protracted lockdowns across the nation, unable to return, has caused major problems for CBD retailers that rely on office worker traffic for their business.

But there is a growing belief among city workers and companies that new work-from-home patterns will become entrenched so that, even as Covid-19 lessens in its intensity, or when it completely vanishes, these workers will decide to remain at home for a number of days through the working week.

The Melbourne CBD, once a hive of activity flush with office workers and the headquarters for a number of Australia’s largest companies, is wearing the bruises of last year’s extended lockdowns and further lockdowns this year.

Such is the concern about the emptiness of its CBD and a permanent exodus of workers that a partnership was launched in May between the City of Melbourne, the Victorian government, the Property Council of Australia and the Australian Retailers Association to entice people back into the city.

Dubbed “FOMO Fridays”, the campaign ran for two months and offered giveaways and discounts.

But the key determining factor to bring back workers will be the actions of corporations and their request for staff to leave their dining room tables, bedrooms and home offices to slowly come back to the office.

In March, National Australia Bank CEO Ross McEwan told ABC radio the bank had about 3500 staff in its Melbourne office up against the restrictions that were in place of allowing a capability of just over 5000.

But he added he did not think NAB would go back to 100 per cent of its workforce back at the office, with flexibility becoming part of the working landscape that allowed people to work from home a few days a week.

“The thing that I’ve said is, it has changed under Covid,” Mr McEwan told ABC radio in March. “We have got great colleagues who are now capable of working from home and have done a fantastic job for the bank and our customers over the last 12 months, and I don’t think we’re going to go back to 100 per cent working five days in the building.”