- A purposeful in-office day gives people something a video call can't: real-time collaboration, direct feedback, and structured time to build how the team works together.
- 39% of Australian employers now mandate five office days a week, up from 36% in 2024, and the average mandated week has grown to 3.64 days, according to Robert Half research.
- A mandate and an anchor day solve different problems. A mandate sets attendance. An anchor day sets a reason to be there.
- Employees are far more likely to see a hybrid policy as fair when they help shape it, according to Gallup research, not when it's simply handed down.
- A structured team building workshop is one of the clearest ways to turn a scheduled office day into one worth the commute, with results tracked through PowerProv's Personal Power Index™.
An in-office day earns the commute when people get something a video call can't give them: real-time collaboration, quick feedback, and structured time to work better together. Too many return-to-office mandates fix the day but skip the reason. PowerProv, Australia's #1 corporate improv training company, turns a scheduled office day into a purposeful team building session people want to attend.
What Makes an In-Office Day Worth the Commute?
An in-office day is worth the commute when it delivers fast, in-person collaboration, real conversation, and dedicated time to build the team's communication and trust. If the day is just the same video calls moved into a conference room, the commute costs more than it gives back.
That distinction matters more now than it did a few years ago. Early hybrid policy was mostly a flexibility debate: how many days could staff work from home. The conversation has shifted. Now the question leaders are asking is what happens on the days everyone is required to show up.
Why Are Australian Companies Requiring More Office Days?
Australian employers are locking in more in-office time, and quickly. According to Robert Half research, 39% of Australian employers planned to mandate five office days a week in 2025, up from 36% the year before, and the average mandated week climbed to 3.64 days. Robert Half director Nicole Gorton described a domino effect: once a handful of visible employers move to five days, others follow so they don't look out of step.
Robert Half Australia research, 2025
That peer pressure explains why more office days are showing up on the calendar. It doesn't explain what should happen once people are in the building, which is the part most policies leave blank.
What's the Difference Between a Mandate and a Purposeful Anchor Day?
A mandate and an anchor day sound similar but solve different problems.
- A mandate
- Sets how many days staff must be seen in the office. Says nothing about what happens once they're there.
- A purposeful anchor day
- Sets a reason to be there: a shared day built around real collaboration, decisions, and connection, not just presence.
Teams that treat every mandated day the same way they treated the office before 2020 usually get the same complaint back: the commute cost time and energy, and the day itself felt like nothing changed. Much of this tension echoes the same hybrid work debate that's played out across Australian workplaces over the past year. Whichever direction the policy leans, unstructured hybrid time rarely builds the connection leaders are hoping for.
Why Do Employees Push Back on Mandated Office Days?
Employees push back when a mandated day costs them a commute but changes nothing about how the day is spent. Fairness matters here as much as logistics. Gallup research finds that employees who help set their team's hybrid policy are far more likely to call it fair and see it as good for collaboration, yet only around 1 in 10 employees currently work under a policy set that way.
The pushback usually isn't about the office itself. It's about a day that costs a commute and gives nothing back that couldn't have happened on a call.
What Should a Purposeful In-Office Day Include?
A well-designed in-office day is built around a small number of deliberate choices, not a packed agenda.
Most of these cost planning time, not budget. The one item teams tend to skip, because it takes real design work, is the structured activity that builds a skill rather than just filling a slot on the calendar.
How Does a Structured Workshop Turn a Mandated Day Into a Purposeful One?
A structured, skills-based workshop is the clearest way to give a mandated office day a reason beyond compliance. PowerProv's half-day workshops run for 3 to 4 hours and are its most popular format, built for teams of 12 or more who need a focused session on communication, collaboration, and confidence. The full-day workshops run for 6 hours and add deeper work on innovation and problem-solving, which suits a full anchor day rather than a shortened one.
The method is built on behavioural science, not trust falls or PowerPoint, and it isn't a comedy workshop. Nobody performs or tries to be funny. Teams work through unscripted, real-world situations that build listening, adaptability, and confidence under mild pressure, which makes it a strong fit for people who feel out of practice after long stretches of remote or hybrid work. PowerProv is introvert-friendly by design, which matters on a day meant to rebuild in-person habits, not test anyone's comfort zone.
“The perfect type of session to run post-COVID. I can't think of a better way to bring a team back together.”— Ryan C., Senior Manager, Bain & Co
PowerProv has run this kind of training for 13+ years, for hundreds of companies including Google, Westpac, PwC, Bain & Co, and Canva, both in person and online across Australia and APAC. Every workshop carries a money-back guarantee, which lowers the risk of picking the wrong format for a first anchor day.
How Do You Measure Whether an In-Office Day Worked?
The right measure isn't whether people showed up. It's whether anything about how the team works together changed. PowerProv tracks that through its Personal Power Index™, an ongoing study measuring communication, collaboration, and confidence before and after each workshop. Ninety-eight percent of participants report improved self-confidence, collaboration, and thinking on their feet, and 82% report improved decision-making and leadership.
“It's a safe, fast-paced, mind-expanding environment and gets you thinking differently about how to solve problems.”— Kamal S., Management Consultant
That kind of measurable shift is the real test of a purposeful in-office day. A team that leaves with a sharper way of listening, deciding, or handling pressure has something to show for the commute. A team that leaves with a full inbox and a longer day doesn't.
- A mandate sets the day. A purposeful anchor day sets the reason. Attendance alone doesn't build anything. A protected block of structured, skills-based time does.
- A workshop is the concrete lever, not a vague call to 'be intentional.' PowerProv's half-day and full-day formats give hybrid teams a specific, measurable way to make an anchor day earn its place on the calendar.
Business leaders and People & Culture teams weighing up how to spend the next mandated office day can start with a short conversation. Book a discovery call to talk through group size and goals, or see how it works first.
Sources
- More Employers Mandate 5 Days as They Follow Other Businesses · Robert Half Australia
- Global Indicator: Hybrid Work · Gallup
Frequently asked questions
What is a purposeful in-office day?
A purposeful in-office day is a scheduled office day built around a clear reason for people to be there together, not just a headcount requirement. It usually includes protected collaboration time, a structured activity that builds real skills, and space for informal connection, so the commute delivers something remote work cannot.
What's the difference between an anchor day and a return-to-office mandate?
A mandate sets how many days employees must be in the office. An anchor day sets why. Mandates are about attendance. Anchor days are built around a specific reason for the team to be together, such as planning, review, or structured collaboration, so the day has a purpose beyond being seen.
How many days a week are Australian companies requiring staff back in the office?
According to Robert Half research, the average mandated in-office week among Australian employers reached 3.64 days in 2025, up from 3.43 days in 2024, and 39% of employers planned to mandate a full five days, up from 36% the year before.
Why do employees push back on mandated office days?
Employees push back when a mandated day costs them a commute but doesn't change what happens once they arrive. If the same video meetings simply move into a conference room, the day offers no clear benefit over working from home. Gallup research finds employees are far more likely to call a hybrid policy fair when they help shape it.
What should happen on a purposeful in-office day?
A well-designed in-office day protects time for real collaboration, includes a structured activity that builds communication or teamwork skills, and leaves room for informal conversation over a shared meal or break. It should also include a clear no-meeting buffer, so the day isn't just back-to-back calls in a different room.
Can a team building workshop make a mandated office day worth it?
Yes. A structured, skills-based workshop gives a mandated office day a concrete purpose beyond compliance. PowerProv's half-day and full-day workshops build communication, collaboration, and confidence through guided practice, giving teams something to take back to their desks, with results tracked by the Personal Power Index™.
Does PowerProv only run in-person workshops for return-to-office days?
No. PowerProv runs both in-person and online workshops across Australia and APAC, so hybrid teams can build the same skills whether everyone is in one room or spread across locations. In-person anchor days are a strong fit for PowerProv's half-day and full-day formats, since the team is already in the building.
