In-office barista coffee, free lunch and booze on Fridays are among suggestions made by Canberra business people for getting workers back to the office.
But with recent reminders of public servants' rights to work from home, will incentives cut it for private sector employees in the territory?
The question was addressed by a panel at the Property Council ACT's Future of Work event on September 3, who said younger workers were suffering most from not being in the office.
Amanda Fyfe from architectural firm Gray Puksand said a collaborative layout helped foster the kind of mentorship young workers wanted.
"Productivity is still high for senior staff but we are getting a drop off with the younger cohort who need the training and want mentoring," she said.
"In the long run, we are not training up and mentoring the next group of people coming through."
This kind of help could not be offered through a low-quality video call, she said.
The chief executive officer of workplace consultancy firm Puzzle Partners, Katherine Divett, said comfortable amenities that could not be replicated at home was key to getting younger workers in offices.
This included things like phone booths, "good coffee" within an easy walk, and an collaborative office space where employees could have control of lighting and mood.
"If you don't have [a great environment to come to], people won't want to get out of 'office attire' which is business on the top and yoga on the bottom," she said.
"What you are effectively saying is we will give all the perks and all the benefits - and you give us your commute," Cre8ive director James Willson said.
"Workplaces who are purposeful will go forward and far," he said.
Concerns were also raised over lack of spend from young workers on CBD infrastructure.
Mr Willson described NSW Premier Chris Minns' return to work mandate for public servants as "a sign of leadership" in keeping the economy afloat for future generations.
The snap directive was met with earlier praise from the Property Council who said the ballooning vacancy rates in Canberra's CBD were having a negative effect on trade, especially for small businesses.
The Property Council's latest office market report shows Canberra had about a 1.2 per cent rise in vacancies between February and July 2024.
The historical average of office vacancy rates in Canberra is 7.6 per cent.
Ms Divett said at Tuesday's event these figures were causing a nose dive for Canberra's hospitality and commercial real estate sectors.
"Most of the businesses [that are suffering in the CBD] are small businesses," she said.
"We are at the real inflection point with return to work," she said.
