Where is everyone on Monday and Friday?
The easy answer: Working from home.
A fabulous opportunity, if you dare to enter the office, to shrink that to do list in an office devoid of chatter.
Restaurants report Thursday has overtaken the last working day of the week as their busy time.
Friday, according to analysis of traffic, has become something of a knock-off-a-few-domestic-tasks opportunity before the weekend.
Run a load of washing, a quick trip to the supermarket, pick up the dry cleaning, book the electrician to put in that new light fitting.
The flavour and makeup of the working week has changed considerably since the pandemic.
The allocation of resources and how they in business are applied has in the past been the remit of the manager, acting on the instructions of the owners (who are sometimes a group of shareholders).
Now employers report staff instructing them on where and when they will work. See the AdNews series on the Talent War.
Analysis in Sydney by outdoor media group JCDecaux shows a drop-off in movement on Friday is largely due to audiences choosing to work from home.
“However, even when audiences choose to work from home, they are still getting out and about,” says JCDecaux.
“Therefore, out-of-home exposure is still guaranteed on these WFH days, however the focus is on where they live, rather than where they work."
And the data from JCDecaux suggests that people are now using Friday as a day to decompress from the work week and prep for the weekend.
This turns around from the pre pandemic when Sundays were a day to decompress and prep for the work week.
JCDecaux: “We can surmise that Fridays drop-off in movement is likely due to people not needing to commute."
And not being tempted to have a drink in the city to celebrate the end of the working week.
A quick check of restaurants frequented by media and advertising types will reveal quick fingers online are needed to get a booking on a Thursday.
The pandemic saw Australia’s cities become peopleless wastelands. But people are back now.
The Sydney CBD has seen office occupancy levels bounce back from 7% in January this year to 55% in May, staying constant at 55 per cent in June., according to the Property Council’s Office Occupancy Report.
Property Council’s NSW executive director Luke Achterstraat: “Last month we have faced disruptions to our train network, strikes, inclement weather and waves of COVID-19 and the flu which have inevitably kept people at home.
“Given all these factors it is encouraging to see office occupancy has remained at 55% and has not gone backwards.
“One month of data does not equal a trend, so now is the time for government and employers to double down and maintain momentum for the return to office.
“Now is not the time to be bringing back conversations about work from home advice or mask mandates in offices.”
In late 2021, EY interviewed a sample of 3,017 Sydneysiders to find out how their attitudes to the CBD had changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the activities and activations that would entice them back.
According to EY’s Future Consumer Index research, more than half (54%) of all Australians say the pandemic has changed their lives “significantly”, from how they work and socialise, to how they travel, shop, dine and enjoy leisure time. People have new perspectives on time and space.
Six in 10 Australians say they plan to be more cautious of their spending in the future than they were pre-pandemic.
A third say they are less inclined to choose experiences outside the home because of health and safety concerns. And half (50%) say their values and outlook on life have changed.
Before to the pandemic, around 35% of Australians were visiting their local CBD at least once per week with 45% visiting at least monthly.
EY: “In six months’ time, it is likely that more than two-thirds of these pre-pandemic visitors will return to the city at least once per week and more than three-quarters plan to return at least once per month.”
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