Roxy Jacenko: WFH Hurts Businesses, Calls it ‘Lazy’

Roxy Jacenko has slammed working from home arrangements, describing it as a ‘lazy’ work mentality.

Speaking at her ‘In Conversation with Roxy Jacenko’ exclusive event in Sydney on Friday, the PR dynamo said the key to a good business operation is interacting and networking – in person.

‘We stopped picking up the phone, stopped going to things, stopped networking altogether. Zoom became an easy way of doing business,’ Roxy told the crowd.

‘It’s a lazy way of doing business. The fact is, people want an experience, they want a memory. We need to start doing that networking again.’

Roxy runs a PR firm and Ministry of Talent, a talent agency that represent influencers like Costeen Hatzi and reality TV star Ash Pollard.

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Roxy Jacenko has slammed working from home arrangements, describing it as a ‘lazy’ work mentality 

She believes that as working from home arrangement continue, workers are increasingly forgetting the importance of being around people.

‘Everything has become digital, but people want the touch-and-feel experience. This is why I am doing this (seminar), there is an importance in being around people,’ she explained.

‘We lost that connection during Covid. We became lazy. Instead of going to a face-to-face meeting you would have a meeting over Zoom or Teams.’

‘I get to an end result because I do it face-to-face. People want to be treated like real people, they want to belong. It’s about community,’ she added. 

‘We want to see a familiar face, to see a connection. So much more comes from face-to-face than staring at a screen. It’s s**t on Zoom, it doesn’t have the same connection.’

She went on to describe a recent business meeting with an investment banker in Singapore.

When she walked into the company’s office there were no employees at their desks because everyone was working from home. 

She said it made her think twice about working with the company, and in turn, they lost her business.

Speaking at her In Conversation with Roxy Jacenko exclusive event in Sydney on Friday, the PR dynamo said the key to a good business operation is interacting and networking – in person 

‘When you walk into our office, it’s light and bright, there’s orchards and music, There’s a vibe!’ she said.

WFH became the norm for white-collar workers during the Covid lockdowns from 2020 – 2022, and has since become entrenched in many industries, with more than a third of Australians now doing their job at home. 

Some companies are pushing to get staff back into the office more often in the belief it is a more efficient way of working, but the Productivity Commission recently concluded the opposite.

This is not the first time Roxy has slammed working from home.

Back in November 2024, she scolded fellow business owner Jane Lu over her working from home policies at Showpo.

She expressed her disapproval of the CEO’s decision to have employees work in the office only two out of five days per week.

Speaking on The Lazy CEO Podcast with Jane Lu, Roxy emphasised her belief that having staff present in the office five days a week would foster greater collaboration among the team.

Roxy’s team are all in the office 

‘You’ve got a whole team out there. Get them here five days a week, not f**king two days a week,’ she said.

‘The only way to work the team is with the team. And I’m sorry, I don’t believe in this work from home.’

Jane acknowledged that when she had her team in the Showpo office full-time, she noticed that more ideas were ‘bounced off’ and exchanged among colleagues.

‘Before Covid, I was more the same age as everyone. We were together five days. [There was] so much more collaboration,’ she said.

‘Everyone just presents ideas to me. There’s no brainstorm.’

‘Yeah, but that’s your fault. You’re the boss,’ Roxy quipped. ‘You’re not together, you’re not on the floor with them… only two days a week.’

Roxy, who relocated her family to Singapore in 2023, confirmed in September she had made a return to publicity and Sydney two years after stepping down as director of Sweaty Betty.