I don’t like Mondays: Workers show it will be hard to get them back full time
Brisbane office workers are slowly heading back to the office with a Property Council survey showing an average 64 per cent CBD occupancy in May, well up from the 51 per cent in April.
Queensland's unemployment level masks the real picture (file photo)
But Brisbane workers are also showing there are days when they just won’t budge from the home office.
According to the Property Council data, CBD office occupancy rises as high as 73 per cent during the week, but slumps back to 45 per cent on what it calls the low days, typically Monday and Friday.
It showed the preference for work flexibility was stronger now than it had been in previous months, but there was also a lingering concern among workers about “workplace safety”.
The low point of 13 per cent occupancy for the CBD was in January this year when Omicron hit and workers were ordered home, but the Property Council Queensland executive director Jen Williams said the May result was one of the largest jumps in two years.
Williams said more work was needed to bring people back, including incentives for people to use public transport and get back to the city.
Public transport remains one of the biggest hurdles for Brisbane residents.
Google mobility data shows the number of people using public transport is down 31 per cent compared with the January to February period of 2020, before Covid hit Australia.
It also shows visits to the workplaces were down 14 per cent.
The aversion to public transport is reflected in most places in Queensland. Cairns is down 34 per cent despite being higher on almost every other measure. The Gold Coast is down 30 per cent, Ipswich 36 per cent, Logan 29 per cent, Redlands 21 per cent and the Sunshine Coast 30 per cent.
“A targeted, reduced fare campaign on the days of lower patronage _ typically Monday and Friday _ would go a long way towards boosting public transport numbers and reducing traffic congestion on local roads,” Williams said.
More than half of those surveyed said it would be three months or more before there was a material increase in occupancy levels but Williams said she was confident the return to the office was a growing trend, even with the impact of the flu season.
“The strong office occupancy result for May matches what we have been seeing in the market in terms of demand for office space,” Williams said.
“This highlights that big organisations clearly believe in the future of the office as a space to collaborate and engage creatively with co-workers.”
