How Working from Home can Benefit the Economy
I remember when Australia first went into lockdown and I was asked to stay at home, a part of me was quite happy that I would be saving myself the long, hectic (and often stressful) commutes to my workplace, most days of the week.
Plus, I would be sparing myself the endless battles of trying to find a parking space. And the additional cost of parking that goes with it.
And the cost of unhealthy lunches — when you don’t have enough time to pack lunch - which was often the case with me.
It felt like a saving on every level — time, energy, money, health.
Then, another part of me was thinking about what would happen to all those thriving small businesses that surrounded my workplace? Their revenue depended substantially on people like me who had to come to work every day.
Now that the majority of their customers were working from home, how would they manage to survive? Would that mean the end of the road for them?
A country’s economy is a bit like an ecosystem. Once we become a part of the social construct called “economy”, in a sense, we become inter-dependent. If thousands of small businesses cannot survive, it’s only a matter of time before their downfall catches up with us.
During the initial days of the lockdown, I remember one of my colleagues being super excited about working from home. And yet, I was thinking — how is this going to work in the long run?
For an economy to thrive, money must keep going around changing hands. If we are all going to sit at home and do everything from home, can we spend at the same level as we once did?
Yes, we can go out on weekends. But what about the spending that happens on weekdays? Maybe we can all hop on to the web and click “Buy” as much as we like?
In the days prior to COVID, you wouldn’t have as much time to spend on shopping websites if you had to physically go to work. Much of the shopping I ever did on the web was for items that were not available locally.
From the point of view of non-online businesses, their competition was much more localized. Depending on the type of business and where they were located, each business had its own, almost assured slice of customers from a pool of the local population that lived (and especially worked) in that area.
I still remember the snaking queues outside coffee shops during the mornings. There was a local shopping centre, about 7-minute walk from my office which had a variety of stores. A lot of their sales took place during lunchtime, when people got away from their desks for a break.
Old habits die hard. After a few hours at my screen, I began to feel the need for a coffee break.
Now, I could go into my kitchen, and for the first time in a long time, make my own cuppa at this time of the day.
But I knew my handmade coffee would be nowhere near the great taste of barista coffee! Plus, it wasn’t just about a coffee. I also needed to stretch my legs and get some fresh air.
As my mind was browsing through the available options, the first thing that stood out was the local suburban shops, that I hadn’t visited in a long time.
Yes, it wasn’t a full-blown shopping centre full of interesting variety. But I knew there was at least a small coffee shop which was at a five-minute walk from my home.
The next option was the local town centre. This meant that I would need to pull out my car, take a 10-minute drive, find parking, then take the escalator, find a decent coffee shop, grab the coffee and drive all the way back home. Which means getting a coffee becomes at least a 30-minute exercise.
So, I decided to take a quick walk to the local shops.
As I stood there waiting for my coffee, I couldn’t help looking around me. All I could see, was a supermarket, a pharmacy (but no clinic), an Indian grocery shop and a hairdresser — all packed into one small building.
There really weren’t many people around on a weekday afternoon and I couldn’t help wondering to myself how these businesses managed to sustain themselves.
I went there again the next day. And the next day. And the next.
A few weeks later, as I looked out of the coffee shop window, I saw a huge signage announcing that a second supermarket was opening right opposite the road. Then, a few days on, I saw the announcement of new cafe right next to the supermarket.
Days rolled into weeks, weeks into months. Before long, the local area looked completely transformed. Now there was also a large sized pub, two restaurants, a nails and waxing salon, a sushi place and a two-dollar shop (just to name a few).
Empty shopping spaces that previously had “For Lease” written on their windows were quickly getting snapped up.
And then I thought — would the COVID lockdown perhaps give us a nudge, if not a push towards a more well-distributed economy? Would it encourage more localization of businesses thereby creating more job opportunities?
The small businesses that were close to my workplace may not be able to make the same level of profit as they once did. But they may still survive as the people that live in the area would probably continue to visit.
However, local businesses that are situated out in the suburbs, away from big employment hubs and CBDs would also get a chance as locals working from home would be able to visit them.
A young couple, whose dream is to one day start their own café may not have to wait to save a ton of money to rent out a CBD space. They could start one close to where they already live, at a very affordable budget.
Money would be better distributed across all areas of the city rather than the majority being funneled into a CBD shopping centre.
If working from home can give a boost to local employment we would probably have better overall outcomes for the country’s economy through more businesses and more jobs.
