I am grateful to Dan Ziffer and the ABC for the opportunity to participate in this story about working from home. I am also thankful to colleague Jennifer for being willing to be interviewed and to Michael and Minh for their live shots and to some other crew members for joining on the Zoom. Here’s a link to the full story: https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NC2206H037S00

The story itself is an indicator of changes in reporting. Dan shot the interview with Jennifer at home and myself in our office over 2 days. The content made its way onto radio, TV and online.

On the topic itself, for us, engagement came about because some people were calling for a return to the city, a return to offices. That didn’t make sense to me so I wrote about it. Dan Ziffer from the ABC noticed that. My view is there is no going back to office blocks full of people. People who can work from home should be able to. People who want to work in an office should be able to.

Someone sitting on the ground out the front of a shop asking people for spare change is a challenge for the retailer. While some will drop some coins into the cup or cap, some will shop elsewhere to avoid the interaction.

There are other situations where relationships form. I saw this recently in Melbourne where a shopkeeper was closing up for the night and said goodnight by name to the person sitting out the front of their shop asking for spare change. That person said goodnight to the shopkeeper by name.

In Sydney, I have seen the same person on the busy CBD corner for more than 10 years, pitching the same story about needing money for medicine.

I get that many people are living in challenging and fragile situations and that there are significant cracks in the state and federal support platforms available for homeless, unemployed and other vulnerable people, and that this leads to some hitting the streets asking for money. I also understand that there are some who exploit locations, as a form of employment.

For the retailer with someone begging out front, it can be stressful, worrying. It can be hard to know what to do. While begging is illegal in Victoria, there is good commentary from experts that fines for beggars are not the answer.

Justice Connect published an interesting report about begging in Victoria, which I found useful.

In considering how to respond to a specific local situation we have to consider the situation of the person begging, people who want to shop with you, your own team members and others in the community. It is complex, and unlikely to have a simple or linear solution. Each retailer needs to discover the path that is best for them and those they share the situation with.

In my own case, since it is infrequent at the moment, I have found becoming more aware of the situation to be a useful first step. I have also spent some time looking for a respected homelessness related charity with which to connect, and support. I have settled on Launch Housing if you are interested. They do good, practical work, a secular organisation with a good track record. I like that they show the value of a donation in terms of rooms provided.

I understand that paying someone else money does not necessarily resolve your issue and that it can been see as payment to make a feeling of guilt go away. As I said, Launch Housing support is a first step.  The next step, next time someone is begging in front of the shop, it to try and understand. But I reckon that will be easier said than done.

Begging is a complex challenge, and it feels like it is on the increase. Plenty of local small business retailers and close to the front line of this challenge.

Not being reported anywhere with accuracy, because it is impossible to track, is the days lost each week in businesses, including local retail businesses, due to Covid.

With financial support almost all closed off now, businesses and employees (depending on employment status) are left carrying the cost.

What magnifies the cost of Covid to businesses is late detection, which has come about because in the change in narrative focus by state and federal governments. Whereas in the past, early detection was key, today, the approach is casual, with no pressure. This adds to infection, especially in close proximity settings, like in retail.

The situation is also exacerbated by softening messages around masks, sanitiser and those steps early in the pandemic that were considered crucial to reducing the infection rate.

In our businesses with a small labour pool, the cost of an infection within the team can be considerable. This leaves us to apply our own rules, like continuing to use masks even when they are not mandated, maintaining acrylic screens at the counter, encouraging the use of hand sanitiser and keeping surfaces clean.

While I get that vaccines have reduced the impact Covid can have on many, it continues to be a risk to those unable to be vaccinated. It is also a risk to the vaccinated in that a diagnosis with Covid means you’re off work for a week, and that has a cost to you or your employer. In some business settings with no spare labour capacity, it can cause the business to close.

I was in Dubai last week and talking to some of the locals, they are happy that masks continue to be mandated outside, in all settings. A couple of retailers I spoke with said this was a key factor in them not being affected.

Here in  Australia, the noise of people demanding freedom has won and we are is a situation where the infection rate is higher, and the costs for business, individuals, and governments, are higher.

Looking at data, in the UAE, with a mask mandate, the current infection rate is 87,000 per 1M population. In Australia, that number is 151,000 while in the US, with a noise freedom chanting group, the number is 243,000.

As a business owner carrying the cost of employees being diagnosed with Covid, I wish this was happening less, that the impact on people on our team was less, that the costs hitting the business were less.

Freedom is more expensive that the measures we all took early in the pandemic.

In the meantime, in my own businesses, I encourage as much as I am able team members to wear masks and take precautions for themselves and their own loved-ones.