This Month
The best countries for digital nomads to call home
Nine of the top 10 countries for digital nomads’ quality of life are in Europe, including some surprises such as the Netherlands and Norway.
- Lebawit Lily Girma
July
‘I’m going to get a margarita, and I’ll be back’: why CEOs work on holidays
With remote work now the norm for large numbers of professionals and connectivity at near constant levels, for many senior people in business, switching off completely is unrealistic.
- Oliver Balch
Working from beach is the new WFH (just don’t tell your boss)
Work from anywhere policies – allowing staff to spend some time abroad on the clock – makes people more likely to stay at a company for longer, a survey found.
- Lauren Shirreff
- Exclusive
- Office
The 19 corporate giants behind Sydney’s tumbling office values
Australia’s biggest companies have cut close to 200,000 square metres from their Sydney CBD office footprints. And so far, only Westpac is considering expanding again.
- Campbell Kwan
Just 7pc of British bosses say they go into the office full-time
The findings could open employers up to accusations of hypocrisy from angry staff who have been forced back to their desks.
- Lucy Burton
Remote work crushes next wave of office towers: experts
The next wave of CBD skyscrapers may not emerge for another decade as Sydney and Melbourne office markets recover from the rise of remote work and record high vacancy rates.
- Nick Lenaghan
Rich Americans flex-working on French Riviera fuel property boom
International buyers want long-term investments in sunny wealth hubs such as the French Riviera, Dubai and Miami, where they can live for long periods each year.
- Damian Shepherd
June
Employers lure workers back to office with promise of their own desk
Hot desking took off during the pandemic as a way to save money amid a new era of hybrid work. Now some firms are having second thoughts.
- Matthew Boyle
May
WeWork’s no-drama new owner pitches turnaround
Low-profile software tycoon Anant Yardi sees “tremendous opportunity” in the co-working business after a turbulent bankruptcy.
- Amelia Pollard and Sujeet Indap
Cobbler counts the cost of fewer feet as CBD economies lose $4.3b
Cities are getting 370,000 fewer office worker visits every day compared to pre-pandemic, which has led to CBD-based businesses struggling to make ends meet.
- Campbell Kwan
Not a home office: cafe finds coffee and laptops don’t blend well
The same reasons that drove19th-century writers from their garrets have led office workers to colonise café tables.
- Jane Shilling
Return-to-office orders backfire at top tech firms
In the months following return-to-office mandates, an increased number of senior employees left Apple, Microsoft and SpaceX, often to work for competitors.
- Taylor Telford
Flexible work payroll software failures risk huge fines
The disconnect between the hours that payroll systems think people work, and how long they’re actually working, is only going to get more expensive to ignore.
- John Davidson
- Opinion
- Public service
Why headcount matters when it comes to budgets
As any finance chief will attest, the number of bums on seats tells you most of what you need to know about an organisation’s underlying size and costs.
- Tom Burton
Melbourne shuns office return, Sydney coaxed by redundancy fears
New figures also show Canberra has the second-lowest office attendance rates as public service workers do not face the same scrutiny as Sydney’s private sector.
- Campbell Kwan
Pioneering CEO reveals the truth about four-day work weeks
Workplace consultancy Inventium was the first company in Australia to adopt a shorter schedule, but three years later it is not on track to hit its targets.
- Amantha Imber
April
Singapore orders all employers to consider flexi-time requests
Singapore’s move is in line with other countries including Ireland and the UK, where governments require businesses to consider flexi-work requests.
- Yihui Xie
Australians lead the world in business-leisure trips
Aussies are taking business trips nearly twice the length of the global average and Melbourne boss and golfer Jon Kerr is all for it.
- Gus McCubbing
WeWork predicts $12b in rent savings after bankruptcy ends
The co-working company’s plan to reduce its real estate comes as it separately fields an offer by Adam Neumann to buy back the company he co-founded.
- Steven Church and Natalie Wong
March
Return-to-work policies are the latest culture war flashpoint
Remote work pits workers versus management, white versus blue collar, left versus right. The debate is turbocharged by social media and everyone has a hot take.
- Charlie Wells
