The global housing crisis has reached a tipping point, with affordability becoming a significant challenge for millions. While various economic and policy-driven solutions are being debated, one of the most overlooked yet impactful levers for change lies in workforce planning and the way businesses approach remote work.

By fully embracing work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid models, companies can indirectly contribute to making housing more accessible and affordable. Here’s how:

The Housing Benefits of Remote Work

  1. Geographic Flexibility Lowers Housing Costs

    – Without the need to commute daily, employees can live in more affordable areas where rental and property prices are significantly lower.

  2. Household Savings Improve Purchasing Power – Families with multiple working members save hundreds of dollars monthly by eliminating daily commutes, reducing fuel, public transport, parking, and work-related expenses. These savings can be redirected towards home ownership or better living conditions.
  3. Repurposing Commercial Real Estate for Housing – With fewer employees needing to be in offices full-time, large commercial real estate spaces can be converted into residential units. This is a far faster and more sustainable way to provide new housing compared to building from the ground up.

Why Isn’t This Happening?

Despite the clear benefits, many corporate leaders remain hesitant about fully committing to remote work. The underlying issue? A lack of trust.

Executives may not explicitly state it, but numerous leaked recordings and candid comments have exposed their scepticism about employees’ productivity outside of the office. For example, David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has been vocal about his preference for in-office work, calling remote work an “aberration.” Similarly, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, has expressed concerns about the long-term productivity of remote employees. These attitudes persist despite multiple studies showing that well-structured remote teams can be just as, if not more, productive than their in-office counterparts.

A major reason for this distrust stems from outdated self-reporting methodologies, particularly in back-office operations. Many companies still rely on subjective reporting systems, which lead to inconsistent and unreliable productivity metrics. Without accurate visibility into employee activity, leaders often assume the worst, further reinforcing their reluctance to embrace remote work.

How Workforce Planning Solves These Challenges

The key to addressing leadership’s concerns about remote work lies in effective workforce planning. Modern workforce optimisation tools provide real-time visibility, automation, and engagement solutions that eliminate common objections to WFH. Here’s how:

  1. Enterprise-Wide Visibility & Accountability – Workforce planning platforms like #ProHance and #AspectWFM offer leaders real-time insights into employee activities, adherence, and productivity regardless of location. Leaders can make data-driven decisions with the same if not more confidence they would have if employees were physically in the office.
  2. Optimised Office Space Utilisation – Tools like Aspect WFM’s Reserve functionality allow businesses to manage office attendance efficiently, scheduling specific desks for employees and preventing overcrowding or ghost-town office days.
  3. Flexible Scheduling for Hybrid Work – Workforce planning allows teams to be scheduled in-office together or staggered strategically, reducing unnecessary office congestion and making hybrid work more efficient.
  4. Real-Time Automation & Safety Compliance – With solutions like #Intradiem, automated alerts and actions ensure that employees remain engaged and compliant with safety and performance standards, no matter where they work. For instance, alerts can notify managers if an employee doesn’t log on or unexpectedly goes offline, ensuring timely interventions.
  5. Employee Engagement & Culture-Building – A common argument against remote work is the loss of company culture. However, gamification-driven platforms like #Aspect’s League foster engagement through friendly competition, recognition, and incentives, reinforcing a strong company culture even in a remote-first environment.
  6. Enhanced Compliance & Fair Compensation – Modern workforce planning practices also play a crucial role in ensuring compliance with evolving labour laws. Many jurisdictions, including Australia, have introduced right-to-disconnect laws, which mandate that employees must not be contacted outside of working hours. Workforce planning solutions can enforce these regulations by ensuring employees properly log off, preventing burnout and legal risks for companies. Additionally, workforce planning platforms provide objective, location-independent visibility into time worked, reducing the risk of wage theft and ensuring fair pay in line with labour laws such as the Fair Work Act 2009 and other wage protection regulations. Having clear, automated workforce tracking removes ambiguity in pay calculations, preventing disputes and ensuring employees receive their entitlements in full.

The Future of Work & Housing Affordability

Workforce planning is not just a tool for improving productivity—it is a strategic enabler that can reshape urban living, ease housing shortages, and empower employees to live better lives. By leveraging the right technologies, companies can remove outdated barriers to remote work and contribute to a more balanced and affordable housing landscape.

The question now is: will corporate leaders embrace this change, or will outdated fears continue to hold back progress?

About the Author

Jeremy Marriott is the Head of Innovation and Growth at Call Design, passionate about leveraging workforce planning to optimise resources, enhance employee engagement, and drive business efficiency. With extensive experience in workforce management, digital transformation, and strategic innovation, Jeremy is dedicated to helping organisations unlock new opportunities through technology. Connect with Jeremy to explore insights on workforce planning, remote work, and business transformation.