Coles orders workers back to the office and the jobs with the top pay bumps revealed

Another week, another back-to-the-office mandate. This time it came from supermarket chain Coles.

Yesterday, chief executive Leah Weckert told the company’s 5000 backroom staff they would have to attend the workplace at least three days a week as part of a new policy to promote more collaboration being phased in over the next six months.

The new policy will also require each employee to ensure at least one of their days in the office falls on a Monday or Friday, effectively preventing staff from taking extra-long weekends away and working from further afield.

“While we know this is a change to our ways of working, setting clear expectations to support leaders and teams to manage hybrid working allows us to balance personal circumstances, the needs of our team and operations into the future,” Weckert said.

She told employees the new policy would “provide teams with opportunities to foster relationships and work collaboratively, while also acknowledging the importance of flexibility and the benefits that hybrid working can provide”.

The announcement comes after ASX-listed betting company Tabcorp and tech giant Amazon ordered staff to return to the office five days a week in September.

Although such mandates can sometimes give the impression that the pandemic-induced shift to working from home has been reversed, data indicates that going to the office every day still remains the exception to the rule in today’s white-collar economy.

A survey of 1300 Australian knowledge workers by 澳大利亚斯威本科技大学 in May, for example, found just 17.5 per cent went into the office five days a week, while 10 per cent worked remotely full-time and 72.5 per cent had a “hybrid” arrangement.

Our story this week has all the details .

Elsewhere, we look at the top 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises last financial year (hint: most are linked to the energy transition).

We also sit down with Nick Mann , the rotating group chief executive of the parent company that owns Swisse, to find out how he is positioning the vitamin maker to cash in on the wellness boom, and why he fasts for 19 hours a day .

And former Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah reveals what he has learnt from the collapse of two airlines .

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The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024

Geologists, engineers and trades such as carpenters and electricians were among the occupations that landed the largest salary bumps last financial year, as employers struggled to find enough workers to power the country’s energy transition.

Research from consultants Mercer found the median total annual salary increase awarded to Australian workers was unchanged at 4 per cent over the 12 months to June 30.

But the report, which painted a picture of a gradually weakening labour market, revealed some in-demand roles landed pay rises well above 10 per cent.

Read the full story here .

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