Bathabile Magethi, a transformational and business coach, and also the founder of Purposefully Branded

First Thing is First | Many bosses want workers to return to the office full time, but with petrol price hikes, things are not that simple. The rising petrol prices and questions of affordability form part of a growing conversation about permanently working from home in South Africa. Employees, already hard hit by one blow after another to their take-home salaries, are now, in the midst of a surge in the cost of petrol, facing calls by some employers to return to the office. With the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, many companies have been calling on employees who have been working from home to return to offices. Locally some business are already back in the office - even if only for two or three days a week. And who can forget the recent call by Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, to his staff to return to the office or never come back to duty. This week saw South African commuters face a drastic increase in the cost of petrol when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced that the price of petrol for 93 and 95 octane will go up by R2.37 and R2.57 per litre. This means that the price for 93 octane will increase from R23.93 to R26.31 per litre, whilst 95 octane will go from R24.17 to R26.74 per litre. According to a survey by PwC, only nine percent of South Africans would like to go back to their traditional work environment full-time Guest :  Bathabile Magethi, a transformational and business coach, and also the founder of  Purposefully Branded