The comments were made by Nicole Duncan, CEO of CR Commercial Property Group
Work From Home (WFH) became a worldwide norm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of employees loved the idea of working from the comfort of their homes without having to travel to the office. However, a Sydney businesswoman thinks otherwise and called those working from home as ''selfish,'' News.com.au reported.
During a call to a commercial radio station on Monday, CEO of CR Commercial Property Group, Nicole Duncan, said that ''this generation is just selfish,'' while describing herself as someone ''passionate about people returning to work''. She added that she spent years travelling to the office on public transport and believes millennials and Gen Z workers should do the same.
''In our younger days, we caught trains, buses, and ferries to get to work. Yes, it did take two or three hours, but you've got to be in the office. You don't know what you don't know, and until CEOs make a decision … it's not going to change,'' Ms Duncan said.
She further blasted companies that allow the WFH norm and blamed them for hurting local businesses.
''Hotels are suffering … there's less business travel, they do it all on (Microsoft) Teams … cleaners, people who make your coffee, lunches, all of those sorts of things. We want a vibrant city for visitors to come to, and it needs to look busy, it needs to look vibrant, it doesn't need to look as slow and rambling,'' she added.
In the wake of Covid-19, 'Work from home' became the new normal for millions of employees across the globe. However, now that Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, many have started returning to their offices permanently.
However, companies in Australia are having a hard time convincing employees of all ages to return to the workplace on a full-time basis. A 2020 Stanford study uncovered that remote workers were 13% more productive than their in-office counterparts.