Elizabeth* had been working a remote job in public relations for about six months when the business decided everyone should work from the office.
But the office wasn’t an office — it was a terrace house without a kitchen or proper office chairs.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Is your boss spying on you while you work from home?
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
While hers is an extreme case, new research reveals more than half of Australian white-collar workers believe working from home, or having the option to do so, is a fundamental right.
When Elizabeth, 30, took on the role at the Sydney company, it was advertised on traditional job sites as a remote position.
After going on Christmas break, management decided that staff should work together once more — but in a bizarre choice, did not get everyone to reunite in a traditional office space.
Instead, Elizabeth and her colleagues worked from the home, where they did not have proper desks or even a fridge to put her lunch in.
“It was really strange, it just kind of happened,” Elizabeth told 7NEWS.com.au.
“It was like ‘come and enjoy this office space’ (but) it wasn’t an office space … it was just a terrace space, just a back room.
“It didn’t even have a fridge or kitchen. It was just so wild.
“I didn’t really have a choice, it wasn’t floated with me at all. It was just done.
“There were no chats on days we preferred to work or anything of the sort (but) I had to go along with it if I wanted to keep my job.”
‘It was so dire’
Elizabeth stayed in the role for another few months before quitting and now works in a traditional office space most of the week while earning a higher salary.
She appreciates the little things like a kitchen, a comfortable chair and two desktop screens.
“No fridge meant I couldn’t take lunch, I had to buy lunch every day.
“I remember thinking ‘Why am I sitting in this house when I could be sitting at mine?’
“It’s so bizarre. It was so dire.
“Now I go into the office and we have a boardroom and private rooms for meetings.”
Elizabeth said the professional setting was something she genuinely enjoyed.
Companies should focus on improving their facilities and culture before demanding staff come back into the office, she said.
“I’m so fine to go into the office, (but it’s) super important to have those basics.
“Like being able to take my salad to work.”
Disconnect between employer and employee views
Organisations are becoming vocally in favour of staff working in the office, with accounting and auditing firm KPMG finding 82 per cent of Australian chief executives favoured office roles being fully based in the office by 2027.
However, new research from leading talent company Randstad shows the majority of workers opposed this attitude.
Just over half of white-collar employees said they viewed the ability to work from home — either part or full-time — as a fundamental right.
Almost a quarter of workers said they would actively search for hybrid roles if given a mandate to work from the office, while six per cent would resign without another job lined up.
Over a third of workers said they believed the mandates stemmed from productivity concerns, yet only five per cent had received official or unofficial warnings about their performance and a fifth of workers said they had actually been praised for their productivity since working from home.
But almost 80 per cent of workers said better perks—costing as little as $4034 per employee per year—could draw them back into the office by choice, not by obligation.
“It’s understandable office workers across Australia feel apprehensive about the current push toward traditional workplace norms of spending more time in the office,” executive general manager of Randstad Australia Angela Anasis said.
“After four years of remote and hybrid work, officer workers feel they have earned the right to work from home and many have made life choices, such as buying a pet or relocating further away from the office based on the assumption that this flexibility was here to stay.
“It’s no surprise therefore that they’re concerned about this right being stripped away without proper justification.
“Given people are prepared to walk away from a job if they’re forced back into the office, employers should carefully consider how to incentivise attendance, focusing on the carrot rather than the stick.”
While for Elizabeth, a fridge for her salad is enough, 80 per cent of workers told Randstad that a range of perks could sway their decision — such as free lunch, free transport or parking, and wellbeing perks such as a free gym membership.
Randstad estimated that offering these perks twice a week could cost as little as $4034 per employee per year — a fraction of the average replacement cost of $21,450 per employee, which can soar to $97,500 when accounting for indirect factors like lost productivity and knowledge depletion.
“The key is offering flexibility for those who need it, while creating a workplace environment that’s inviting enough to draw employees back by choice, not obligation,” Anasis said.
“Striking this balance will help retain top talent and ensure your business continues to thrive in today’s hybrid work landscape.”
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.
CBA accused of bullying staff into the office
The research and Elizabeth’s story come after Australia’s largest bank was accused of bullying staff in an email reiterating its return to the office edict.
The Commonwealth Bank threatened staff with loss of bonuses if they do not return to the office, as reported by The Australian.
CommBank ordered staff back to the office at least 50 per cent of the time last year, with the instruction coming into effect earlier this year.
“While the majority of our people are meeting the expectation, we continue to see some patterns of attendance that are falling short,” CommBank said in the email.
“This email is to advise you that you have one or more team members who did not meet their connection expectation at least once between June and September 2024.”
CommBank warned staff that their “office connection” would be reviewed every month for the next 12 months.
Employees will receive a warning if they do not attend the office, followed by a formal letter if they continue not to meet in-person requirements.
Amazon staff were also earlier this week told to quit if they do not like new the company’s new five-day-in-office mandate.
Staffers who do not agree with Amazon’s new policy can leave, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said during an all-hands meeting at the company’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
The company announced it’s new policy last month, after previously requiring corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week.
Employees have until January 2 to adhere to the new policy.
Dell and Flight Centre have also recently confirmed their expectations that staff work from the office.
Dell Technologies confirmed its staff have been requested to spend more time in the office.
“We continually evolve our business so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,” a Dell spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“That includes more in-person connection to drive market leadership.”
Flight Centre also confirmed it had “communicated it a bit more widely internally recently” that staff should come into the office as much as possible.
“The nature of our business means we are predominantly a work-from-work business,” a Flight Centre spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“This is not new and it reflects the fact that most of our people — about 70 per cent — work in-store in customer-facing roles as travel agents or corporate travel managers.
“We also believe very strongly that it’s important culturally and operationally for our people to be part of a small team and to collaborate face-to-face with fellow team members and other colleagues in the office wherever possible.
“Accordingly, a policy is in place globally.
“There are provisions for flexible arrangements and for our people to work from home from time-to-time, subject to approval from their leaders.”
Tabcorp and the NSW government also recently ordered staff back into the office.
*The workers name has been changed for privacy