Home Property Australia Chief Executive | Time for governments to champion face-to-face teamwork

Chief Executive | Time for governments to champion face-to-face teamwork

  • July 19, 2023
  • by Mike Zorbas
Superior relationships, organisational, economic and societal outcomes come from the face-to-face team work in cities and towns across our nation.

The interpersonal, organisational and city-wide benefits of some face-to-face working in the average work week are overwhelming. 

People are social creatures. People are also driven to seek opportunity. Centuries of the global movement to towns and cities underscores these truths.

The vast majority of us benefit hugely from personal face-to-face connection. The shared connection of physical experience better binds our communities and our society closer together. We spend large parts of our weeks going to school or working and building communities in those offices, shops or warehouses. At the same time flexible working arrangements bring benefits to many people. There have been big advances in the diversity and inclusiveness of our workplaces over the past decade because of thoughtful approaches to flexibility in ways of working.

That is why recent news from Canberra seems unbalanced. Last week the Commonwealth and Public Sector Union (CPSU) achieved agreement with the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) to effectively uncap working from home for Commonwealth employees. We can all imagine some rare, non-permanent, circumstances in which presumption of five days a week working from home might be needed. It can be hoped few people are likely to take this option up because of the purpose and connectedness dividend that most of us feel about working in a team and making life-long friends in a physical workplace.

And yet the presumption persists that it would be fine if teams and organisations were to end up working from home five days a week, month on month and year on year. The chances those teams learn more, are more purposeful, happier, more engaged or achieve more for themselves, their stakeholders or, in this case, the government are vanishingly small.

Our team have been putting a positive case over the past week. That being in a shared space during the week supports new employees, team building, sense of purpose, innovation, productivity and provides the opportunity for lasting friendships. That vibrant and thriving CBDs are an essential part of our national economic prosperity. That working communities coming to the office several days a week, helps city retailers (cafes, restaurants, bars etc) and that this also supports the viability of large-scale public transport systems and investments in public amenities.

Over the coming weeks, we will be asking our leaders to think more carefully about the future of work.

We need them to recognise and champion the superior relationships, organisational, economic and societal outcomes that come from the face-to-face team work in cities and towns across our nation each and every week.