General Discussions

[kruddler]

Yes, there are benefits of working from home.  There are also negatives.  It is dependent on size, purpose of org and management.

- General productivity and communication is dropping as people get comfortable with it.
- There are more taking the P!ss with it again.
- Lose the water cooler idea sharing/venting
- Lose relationship with teams

Yes, local business benefit (by the time I think about lunch, get organised to get it, then eat it takes longer than at an office - so is the extra time made up?), but those that invested in their retail/hospitality business in CBD or other centres lose out.

The first 2 points occur whether you are at home, or at the office. Long term, these people get found out and moved on, so its a non-issue IMO.
The last 2 points are more of a concern, but can be compensate for that by including more team building exercises, or social gatherings etc. You could argue that less of that is required if its specifically designed for that purpose. More bang for your buck.

I think Melbourne is somewhat of a unique case study in a way as we are a large city with a large spread. People come from far and wide compared to some others cities, especially around the world.