The Property Council of Australia’s recent Office Occupancy survey indicates May was the month a considerable amount of workers made their way back to the workplace across the country’s major CBDs.

Adelaide saw occupancy levels increase from 59 to 71 percent and Canberra from 39 to 60 percent, with Perth and Brisbane both jumping from 13 percent to 63 and 64 percent respectively. Sydney and Melbourne saw increases of 13 and 12 percent to record 55 and 48 percent levels of occupancy.

“What we’ve seen this month is a consistent and sizable lift in the numbers of people returning to the office across all CBDs,” says Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison.

“More individuals and workplaces are embracing the benefits of face to face connection and that CBDs are regaining much of their vibrancy.

“This positive lift has occurred at a time when COVID and now the flu are circulating widely, forcing many people and families to stay home or isolate, on top of some extremely wet weather on the east coast.

“Despite the challenging environment, it’s very pleasing to see plenty of people returning to their workplaces, with occupancy on peak days reaching 80 per cent in Adelaide, 73 percent in Brisbane and 66 percent in Sydney.”

Morrison thinks the trend will continue upwards despite hybrid work models being adopted in a number of places in the wake of the pandemic.

“While flexible working is here to stay, there is a value in face-to-face connection that can’t be replicated over a screen,” he says.

“Our latest Office Market Report shows that this jump in occupancy is matched by strong demand for office space from tenants, despite the impacts of the pandemic.

“Strongly growing white collar employment also paints a positive picture for the future of our CBDs.”

The preference for greater flexibility is seen as the driver of current occupancy levels, with more than half of the respondents believing it will take more than three months before a material increase in occupancy levels is recorded.

“Many businesses and building owners are embracing change and evolving the role of the workplace for their teams,” Morrison says.

“It is clear that CBDs will continue to have a very strong role to play in a post COVID world, even as businesses and their employees evolve to new ways of working.”