As the world locked down, people were asked to pack up their office gear and work from home. Now, two years on, many of us are still working from home for a few days a week and experts say this hybrid work model will continue even after the pandemic.
Over the two years we had many a Zoom mishaps, technology fails, and the world soon realised that you can take meetings, hit deadlines and be just as productive, if not more, without getting of your pyjamas.
According to many studies over the two years, productivity boomed when the spare room became the office.
“I think there’s a number of things that make people feel productive first of all they get less distraction when they're working from home so they can concentrate on big tasks, it gives them time to work through what’s a bit trickier and more difficult. People also have more control over their day to day so whenever you have more control it motivates you more,” says University of Otago researcher Dr Paula O’Kane.
But for others it was stressful working alone, not being to switch off and for some it became a larger load to carry.
“I am doing like three jobs in one span which is really hard,” says Kusum Rani who’s been working from home full time over the past two years while looking after her kids.
She’s not the only one who’s exhausted. Research shows women have been disadvantaged with the work from home model, juggling work, with home schooling and getting the chores done, women are feeling more burnt out than ever.
“It’s just very hard to concentrate when you’ve got kids around and you’ve got ten thousand different things in your mind and you’re focusing on that computer.” She says she often has to stay up late once the kids are asleep to finish her work.
Like many others, Rani is eager to get back to the office, but not every day.
Just this month Apple and Google announced a hybrid model where employees will be required in the office at least three days a week. They’re the latest among thousands of businesses globally making the permanent switch.
Businesses here taking a leaf out of that book too and ANZ is one of them.
“From March 2020 we proved we could run the bank from home,” says the New Zealand chief executive for ANZ, Antonia Watson.
She says it’s been good for productivity and the well being of staff and for the company morale.
“You get your couple of days a week to get home and really get through some work and then you get your time in the office to do the team building do the collaboration,” she says.
Working from home has also rewrote the way international business was done.
“It’s made us look at how much we used to travel whether travel was necessary,” says Tony Bradbourne, the founder of a kiwi creative agency ‘Special’.
He says it’s essentially levelled the playing field, allowing them and other businesses to compete globally.
They were the minds behind a mega Superbowl commercial last year after they set up an LA office during lockdown.
“If everyone’s sitting and working in their living rooms and bedrooms it doesn’t matter where you are but how good your ideas are,” says Bradbourne.
“It used to be about how flash your office was whether it’s on Maddison Avenue or Charlotte Street in London, but now it really is about your strategic thinking,” he says.
As of late last year around 48% of kiwis were working both from home and at the office, according to a study by AUT, and businesses say that’s going to continue post pandemic.
“People want choice and choice actually really helps motivate people and people realised they can work from home whenever so if that has worked well for them then its something that's positive and can help peoples stress levels and improve wellbeing,” says O’Kane.
But, there’s also concern then that our CBD’s will remain empty.
“Where once we saw thriving lunchtime trade happening it is a literal ghost town in many cases across our CBD’s so it has had a huge impact on the footfall we see going through the CBD and essentially its completely changed the way businesses can operate in the CBD,” says Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois.
“We’ve seen many businesses close throughout the last few years as a result of not having people in the CBD. We have seen literally hundreds of businesses either close or adjust their hours.”
She’s encouraging people working from home to work a day out of a cafe or move meetings into a café to keep local hospitality business running.
Long term adjustments now needed for CBD businesses as remote working is here to stay.
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