Work-Life Balance in the suburbs!

[Sonya P]

Hi Buzzers,

We're located in a Melbourne bayside suburb and a group of us went out for lunch yesterday to say goodbye to one staff member and welcome a new one. Some of us started discussing the benefits of working in an office based in the suburbs vs the CBD and it was interesting to hear he responses, which were all in agreement.

One would expect the time factor to be a big one. i.e Not spending an hour a day on the road or a smelly crowded train. And whatever commute was required it was either against or across the flow of traffic going into the city.

Free parking - this is not always the case depending on the location, but even if it's paid parking it's much cheaper than the CBD.

Cheaper lunches - not paying CBD prices for a sandwich.

The most surprising one though, and this was quite universal, was the relaxed atmosphere, people not rushing everywhere. Also, we dress casually unless we are seeing clients and people felt much more comfortable doing so in the suburbs, where they would feel out of place doing so in the CBD. People also felt more comfortable going home at a reasonable hour.

It got me thinking that this was quite a selling point for our company when recruiting staff. Furthermore, if companies were more decentralised it would reduce the need to spend billions of dollars on new freeways and tunnels as most State Governments are now doing. People would spend less time travelling, it would be better for the environment and they would have better work-life balance. Which incidentally is shaping up to be the number one motivator for many people when looking for a job.

So if anyone is looking at moving offices in the future, if at all possible float the idea of moving out of the CBD!