Flexible work has become the new norm, despite the best efforts of companies calling workers back to the office.
Some employers assume that a return to the old ways of working is both possible and desirable. But for many workers, their perception of the office environment has changed.
According to our new study, only 27% of surveyed office workers now spend more than 30 hours a week at their workplace — down from 69% before the pandemic. That was typical of a predominantly full-time office-based culture.
And one in four office workers spends fewer than ten hours a week at the office.
The study draws on the Building Occupants Survey System Australia (BOSSA), a large database that assesses worker satisfaction with the indoor environmental quality of their office building. It also considers the role of demographic and personal factors in shaping workplace experiences.
To understand changes in work patterns before and after COVID, we analysed 5,644 surveys pre- and post-COVID. They covered 157 Australian office buildings, mostly in Sydney (81), Melbourne (39) and Brisbane(21).