In the pre -industrial era, people often lived and worked in the same building. This deleted the need to go to work.
The separation of Home and work occurred much later, during Industrial revolution. Factories and offices have been grouped in designated areas and residential zoning was invented.
Even then, people usually spent about 60 to 90 minutes to travel every day, no matter how technology or urban arrangements have changed. This is known as The Constant of Marchetti.
The rise of the Internet in the 1990s – and more recently, the Pandemic COVVI -19 – has triggered a trip of travel. While we head to the polls in Australia The biggest federal electionsworking at home has become a hot button issue.
The work and the coalition have been polarized and against work at home, citing research and even anecdotes support their positions.
It was until this week. The head of the opposition, Peter Dutton, prevented from insisting on all civil servants should return to the office five days a week under the coalition to assert unchangle.
But beyond political quarrels, what the latest research shows -including ours on Brisbane workers -?
Home labor impacts
Home work has an impact on several areas, including transport, housing, business and health. A systematic literature review On home work – covering international studies between 2000 and 2022 – shows:
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Reduces traffic congestion and saves journey time. However, it financially relaxes public transport operators due to the drop in demand.
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Stimulates regional growth while workers are moving in search of larger houses with home office space. But this increases demand and regional housing prices.
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Helps employers to reduce costs and increase productivity and work satisfaction rates. However, it can limit promotion possibilities for remote workers.
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Cut traffic pollution and improves the balance between professional and private life. But this can cause social isolation, overwork, tense family relationships and musculoskeletal problems if the ergonomic furniture is not used.
These are short -term effects, which can possibly disappear as the company adapts. Long -term effects are more difficult to predict because the policies of the government and the workplace change, as well as the economic conditions.
While home work reduces the need to make daily trips, people can reassign this time to save time for out -of -peak trips to shop or leisure.
As households move from urban nuclei, urban sprawl increases, causing less frequent but longer trips. This can increase in global trips and compensate for environmental benefits. The constant of Marchetti can no longer hold.
The redistribution of activity zones can create new economic dynamics. The suburbs and regional centers can draw more local expenses, while areas with fewer stores can count more on online purchases. Traditional CBDs could decrease, requiring new uses for office spaces.
New research on Brisbane workers
Our new research – to be published in a next book in Elsevier series “Advances in transport policy and planning” – Evaluates the short -term costs and advantages of the work of the house for individuals, the private and public sectors of Brisbane.
Here, a great change At home work occurred during the pandemic. We used secondary and proxy data from 2020 to 2021 when we work at home. Meanwhile, Brisbane was in and out of locking.
We have created an accounting tool that lists the costs and benefits of home work. The net impact is calculated by subtracting the total costs of the total advantages, which allows us to measure the tangible effects and, if possible, the intangible effects.
We found that individuals and the private sector have won the most, while the public sector felt the biggest losses. Employees have benefited from more home work benefits than expected, while employers have reduced spending in the CBD and have increased in the suburbs.
In Brisbane, the total annual work of the house (for individuals, the private and public sector) amounted to $ 557.5 million, while the total advantages reached $ 4.1 billion. These advantages prevail over the costs of a seven factor.
However, this is a preliminary aspect, rather than a complete account. It is important to remember that the balance of-dispatches can evolve over time, depending on technological advances, corporate culture and generational preferences.
Should Australia continue to support home work?
Based on our results and assuming that other state capitals occur as Brisbane, we recommend that you keep the work of home arrangements. But what about the losses of the public sector?
Although public transport income has been lower due to home work, this does not seem to be a major problem for the Southeast Queensland. Here, the 50 cents prices were presented before the last state elections and have since become permanent.
However, the budgets of public transport operators in other states may be different. In these cases, more proactive measures may be necessary. This might involve going through advanced services to frequent routes and adjusting rates for vulnerable customers.
Some agencies could offer sensitive demand services, such as carpooling. If all public transport becomes financially unbearable, community cooperatives could intervene.
These changes in transport models can cause changes in land use. For example, companies that rely on daily shuttle, such as restaurants and stores in city centers, can move in the suburbs or pivot to deliver, take or meal kits.
In any case, all the work cannot be carried out remotely. Certain sectors, such as manufacturing, health care, justice and hospitality, will continue to oblige employees to be physically present.