Employers aren’t the only ones who want to drag workers back to their desks.
Office tower landlords are pulling out all the stops – including rooftop gardens, bars and swimming pools – to attract workers.
At the plush new office building The Loft in South Yarra, Melbourne, tenants are treated to a rooftop bar, a business lounge, private bathrooms and infrared saunas.
At Atlassian’s Sydney office, employees have access to massage chairs, a karaoke and gaming room plus a well-stocked café and bar.
Mark Curtain, CBRE head of office leasing Australia and New Zealand, calls it the ‘hotelisation’ of commercial offices.
“It’s certainly stepping up and I think it’s making that service and amenity overlay a bit closer to a hotel experience than what we’ve traditionally had,” he said.
“I guess the basis of that is to ensure that the workplace is an attractive proposition for people to return to going forward, so it’s all about both the base building offering as well as the fit out within the building.”
Office leasing in today’s post-pandemic is all about what real estate agents call ‘earning the commute’. This refers to buildings with enough mod-cons deemed worthwhile by employees weighing up whether to commute to and from their workplaces.
Many employers are allowing hybrid work arrangements which is seeing employees work some days from home and some on-site.
A longitudinal study by the Melbourne Institute’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey found those who work from home aren’t necessarily happier or as productive as they are working on-site.
The study, which tracks 9500 households and 17,500 individuals, found 42 per cent of workers said there was negative effects involved with working from home. This compares to 24 per cent who reported positive effects.
Commercial landlords are banking on more people returning to office towers in the future and have gone to expensive lengths to ensure they stay there.
This includes technology efforts such as apps that allow users to book meeting rooms and food delivery from nearby cafes. Smart sensors also provide no-touch lifts and doors to limit the spread of bacteria.
The lux offerings, including concierges and social spaces, are all icing on the cake, said Curtain.
“There’s swimming pools, firepits and barbecue areas – as broad as your imagination, people are trying to fit different things in to make the staff more engaged with the office,” he said.
“A lot of it too is if people want to eat well and exercise and do all the things they need to do like their dry-cleaning, it’s much easier to come to the office, particularly if they are provided at a cost-effective price or free.”
