English
Budleigh Salterton is a small, seaside town in the English county of Devon, with fewer than 6,000 residents.
But it’s a sign of the times in Britain.
Matt from the Longboat Cafe in Budleigh Salterton says his establishment is doing something it hasn’t done before – staying open right through the winter.
“So last year we were open for the week of Christmas. And it was just as busy as it was in the height of summer”
And on Budleigh’s high street, something remarkable – no empty shops.
Allan at the greengrocers has had a good year.
“Yeah, we’re doing very well, thank you. I would say 20 per cent up on what we were pre COVID.”
When it comes to the housing markets, real estate agents would describe it as ‘buoyant’.
Budleigh used to be a place to retire to but for some it’s become something of a ‘working from home’ hotspot.
Two relatively recent arrivals are Adam Sweets, who’s a structural engineer, and Mark Godfrey, who runs a wedding venue.
ADAM: “We were very lucky to find our dream home in Budleigh during COVID.”
REPORTER: ” How often do you have to go into the office?”
ADAM: “Twice a week probably now, and the rest of it I just do from home.
MARK: “There’s sort of 10, 20 families that have all moved in. It’s become quite a family friendly area.”
REPORTER: “Life has been transformed, hasn’t it?”
ADAM: “Oh, totally, totally transformed.”
A study based on mobile phone data of footfall of more than 500 places around the UK has revealed some interesting data.
It shows city centres in 2022 are down on 2019, the city of London by more than 50 per cent.
But many smaller neighbourhoods – commuter towns, suburbs with local shops and old fashioned towns like Budleigh Salterton, according to this analysis, have got busier in this new era of working from home.
And it appears to be a trend being replicated here in Australia.
Paul Guerra from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce says regional Australia is experiencing growth.
“We know that suburban offices are going pretty well and I’ve spent a fair bit of time out in regional which is also going pretty well, so I think the opportunity is to rethink what the CBD is going to look like.”
But not everyone is happy at the drift to the suburbs and the regions.
Marino Plagiotis manages a cafe in Sydney’s CBD.
He told SBS World News in September last year that people choosing to work from home has a direct impact on city-centre businesses.
“It’s almost irresponsible to tell people to stay home because you’re not thinking about the newsagent, florist, the chemist, and of course, the humble cafe and restaurant. When you ask people, if they don’t need to come in, to stay at home, we have less days to make money in the city. You have a five day business. You would like at least one of those days if you’d like you to make a profit for yourself.”
Luke Aacheterstraat from the Property Council of Australia, says the hybrid workplace has been embraced by many.
“I think the covid pandemic has really accelerated our interaction with flexibility, so whether that’s staggered starts, early starts, or early finishes or late starts late finishes you’re seeing people embrace that flexibility.”
Back in the UK, on a weekday, at five o’clock in the centre of the city of London, while you may not be entirely alone, you’d be hard pressed to say this was a rush hour.
Mark Allan, the CEO of the British property firm Landsec, says the office industry has now accepted there is a new working week:
“What we see as Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, incredibly busy – Mondays, 50 to 60% of those days, Friday is almost like another weekend day, We certainly believe that there are going to be fewer people in offices for the longer term. And we’re planning accordingly.”
Here in Australia, many employers were worried after the COVID lockdowns were put in place that productivity would be hit because staff were working from home.
The Australian Government’s September 2021 research paper ‘Working from Home’ revealed that in fact, the reverse was true.
It said “many people could do their jobs at home just as well as in the office,” and said firms could find that they made cost savings and actually increased productivity.
Down the road from Budleigh Salterton in Devon, is the Volunteer Inn, in Ottery St Mary, another establishment which owner Mike Down says has seen a bit of an uptick.
“We do get an awful lot of people that like just to come out because they’ve been isolated on their own and their laptop or whatever. And we’ve been so much busier, massively busy. Thank God.”
For many, the office seems to be becoming a place we go to when we want to, rather than when we have to.
Italian
Budleigh Salterton è una piccola cittadina sul mare nella contea inglese di Devon, con meno di seimila abitanti.
Ma è un segno dei tempi in Inghilterra.
Matt, del Longboat Café di Budleigh Salterton ha detto che il suo locale sta facendo qualcosa di mai fatto prima – stare aperto per tutto l’inverno.
“So last year we were open for the week of Christmas. And it was just as busy as it was in the height of summer.”
E nella strada principale di Budleigh, qualcosa di straordinario – nessun negozio vacante.
Allan il fruttivendolo ha avuto una buona annata.
“Yeah, we’re doing very well, thank you. I would say 20 per cent up on what we were pre COVID.”
Per quanto riguarda il marcato immobiliare, gli addetti ai lavori descrivono l’anno come “vivace”.
Budleigh era una località per passare gli anni della pensione, ma è diventata una specie di meta preferita per “lavorare da casa”.
Adam Sweets, un ingegnere strutturale, e Mark Godfrey, che gestisce una location per matrimoni, sono due neo-arrivati.
ADAM: “We were very lucky to find our dream home in Budleigh during COVID.”
REPORTER: ” How often do you have to go into the office?”
ADAM: “Twice a week probably now, and the rest of it I just do from home.
MARK: “There’s sort of 10, 20 families that have all moved in. It’s become quite a family friendly area.
REPORTER: “Life has been transformed, hasn’t it?”
ADAM: “Oh, totally, totally transformed.”
Uno studio basato sul traffico di dati telefonici in più di 500 zone del Regno Unito ha svelato dati interessanti.
Questo studio mostra che i dati nelle città nel 2022 sono in discesa rispetto al 2019, la città di Londra di più del 50 per cento.
Ma molti quartieri più piccoli – città dormitorio, sobborghi con negozi di zona e città vecchio stile come Budleigh Salterton, secondo questa analisi, sono diventati più frequentati in questa nuova era del lavoro da remoto.
E sembra che il trend si stia riproponendo qui in Australia.
Paul Guerra, della Camera di Commercio del Victoria, ha detto che le aree rurali dell’Australia stanno crescendo.
“We know that suburban offices are going pretty well and I’ve spent a fair bit of time out in regional which is also going pretty well, so I think the opportunity is to rethink what the CBD is going to look like.”
Ma non tutti sono felici di questo spostamento verso i sobborghi e le aree rurali.
Marino Plagiotis gestisce un caffé nel centro di Sydney.
A settembre dello scorso anno ha detto a SBS World News che la scelta delle persone di lavorare da casa ha un impatto diretto sulle attività del centro città.
“It’s almost irresponsible to tell people to stay home because you’re not thinking about the newsagent, florist, the chemist, and of course, the humble cafe and restaurant. When you ask people, if they don’t need to come in, to stay at home, we have less days to make money in the city. You have a five day business. You would like at least one of those days if you’d like you to make a profit for yourself.”
Luke Aacheterstraat del Property Council of Australia, ha detto che il luogo di lavoro ibrido è stato adottato da molti.
“I think the covid pandemic has really accelerated our interaction with flexibility, so whether that’s staggered starts, early starts, or early finishes or late starts late finishes you’re seeing people embrace that flexibility.”
Tornando al Regno Unito, alle cinque di pomeriggio nel centro della city di Londra, sarebbe forzato dire che è un’ora di punta.
Mark Allan, amministratore delegato dell’agenzia immobiliare inglese Landsec, ha detto che il settore ha ormai accettato che la settimana lavorativa è cambiata.
“What we see as Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, incredibly busy – Mondays, 50 to 60% of those days, Friday is almost like another weekend day, We certainly believe that there are going to be fewer people in offices for the longer term. And we’re planning accordingly.”
Qui in Australia, molti datori di lavoro erano preoccupati che, dopo I molti lockdown imposti a cause del COVID, la produttività avrebbe subito un duro colpo perché la gente lavorava da casa.
L’articolo di ricerca “Working from Home”, prodotto dal governo australiano nel settembre del 2021 ha invece dimostrato che era vero il contrario.
Si diceva che “molte persone potevano svolgere il proprio lavoro da casa come se fossero stati in ufficio”, e che le aziende avrebbero scoperto di avere risparmiato sui costi e in realtà incrementato la produttività.
Lungo la strada da Budleigh Salterton nel Devon c’è il Volunteer Inn, a Ottery St Maru, un altro locale che a detta del proprietario Mike Down ha visto un po’ di crescita.
“We do get an awful lot of people that like just to come out because they’ve been isolated on their own and their laptop or whatever. And we’ve been so much busier, massively busy. Thank God.”
Per molti, l’ufficio sembra diventare un posto nel quale si va quando si vuole, e non quando si deve.
Report by Allan Lee for SBS News.
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