English
For many office workers, the traditional five-day work week hasn't fully returned after COVID lockdowns.
"I do three days in the office and two days at home... I think it will become five days in the office pretty soon. I've only just started my job so I would rather go in a bit more regularly, but I think that you know, I'm pretty self-motivated so I would like to have that option to work from home, definitely, yeah."
But many city-based businesses are pushing to get bums back on seats.
Among them is CommBank, which has put staff on notice that 50 per cent attendance is mandatory from Monday, Jul 17.
The Finance Sector Union, representing bank workers, is taking the matter to the fair Work Commission.
The Union's Wendy Streets says it's too costly for staff who have become accustomed to work-from-home arrangements.
"So the expense and distance that many, many workers have to travel to get to work when they're forced back to the office, is just another pressure, another financial pressure that our members are saying this could break us. This could actually take any spare money that we've got, take it away. And why do I have to do that when I'm working productively from home?"
CommBank is defending the move, saying the days can be averaged out over a month.
In a statement, the bank says the approach gives the majority of their people access to the benefits of a physical workspace, and the advantages of remote work.
In contrast, National Australia Bank has agreed to allow fully remote work for certain roles under a new Enterprise Agreement, along with a 17-and-a- half per cent pay rise over four years.
While many people are enjoying the savings that come from remote work arrangements, they're having an economic impact elsewhere by reducing demand for office space and sucking customers away from central business CBD business districts.
Cafe owner David Montoya says while business has picked up since the pandemic, key works from home days are starting to impact his day-to-day.
"So it's a lot better for us, but Monday's and Fridays are really the days that people decide to stay at home so it's a little bit tough those couple of days. But, any other day - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is really good."
Data from global commercial real estate group JLL indicates that commercial space for lease has risen to a 12-month high in the nation's two largest CBDs.
Both Sydney and Melbourne are seeing increases in office vacancy rates over the three months to June.
And that may only get worse, after the Community and Public Sector Union secured a deal to allow staff to work from home permanently, unless there are clear business reasons why they can't.
Italian
Per molte persone che lavorano in ufficio, dopo i lockdowns imposti dal COVID non si è tornati alla tradizionale settimana lavorativa di cinque giorni.
"I do three days in the office and two days at home... I think it will become five days in the office pretty soon. I've only just started my job so I would rather go in a bit more regularly, but I think that you know, I'm pretty self-motivated so I would like to have that option to work from home, definitely, yeah."
Nonostante questo, molte aziende con sede nel centro stanno spingendo per riportare i dipendenti negli uffici.
Tra loro c’è la CommBank, che ha avvisato i propri lavoratori che da lunedì 17 luglio si devono presentare in ufficio obbligatoriamente per almeno la metà dei giorni.
Il sindacato del settore finanziario, che rappresenta i lavoratori delle banche, porterà la questione di fronte alla commisione Fair Work.
Wendy Streets del sindacato, ha detto che questa soluzione è troppo costosa per i dipendenti che si sono ormai abituati alla logistica del lavoro da casa.
"So the expense and distance that many, many workers have to travel to get to work when they're forced back to the office, is just another pressure, another financial pressure that our members are saying this could break us. This could actually take any spare money that we've got, take it away. And why do I have to do that when I'm working productively from home?"
La CommBank difende la sua scelta, sostenendo che il conteggio delle giornate da passare in ufficio può essere fatto su base mensile.
In un comunicato, la banca ha dichiarato che questo approccio consente alla maggioranza delle persone di godere sia dei benefici di un vero ambiente lavorativo che dei vantaggi del lavoro da remoto.
Al contrario, la National Australia Bank ha consentito ad alcuni dipendenti di lavorare interamente da casa grazie ad un nuovo contratto collettivo, assieme ad un aumento di stipendio del 17.5% su quattro anni.
Mentre molte persone da una parte si godono i risparmi provenienti dal lavoro da casa, altre stanno subendo un danno economico causato dalla ridotta richiesta di uffici e dalla scomparsa di clienti dal centro città.
Il proprietario di un cafè, David Montoya, ha detto che se il suo giro d’affari è incrementato dalla fine della pandemia, i giorni in cui le persone lavorano da casa stanno iniziando a danneggiare le sue entrate quotidiane.
"So it's a lot better for us, but Monday's and Fridays are really the days that people decide to stay at home so it's a little bit tough those couple of days. But, any other day - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is really good."
Le cifre fornite dal gruppo immobiliare internazionale JLL indicano che la disponibilità di uffici in affitto ha toccato il picco negli ultimi 12 mesi nei due CBD principali.
Sia a Sydney che a Melbourne si sta assistendo ad un incremento di uffici sfitti nei tre mesi precedenti a giugno.
E questo può solo peggiorare, dopo che il sindacato del Community and Public Sector ha ottenuto un accordo per permettere ai lavoratori di lavorare da casa in modo permanente, a meno che non vi siano evidenti ragioni commerciali che lo impediscano.
