Australian workers could be PAID to come back to the office in an effort to boost sales at stores in the cities In the campaign bigforsmall, companies are paying staff $20 to come into work ELMO software has been offering the cash to staff for each day they're in office The campaign is encouraging other Aussie companies to get on board Initiative is aimed to help small businesses in city CBDs get back on their feet By Eliza Mcphee For Daily Mail Australia Published: 23:44 BST, 27 October 2021 | Updated: 23:53 BST, 27 October 2021 Viewcomments Australian workers that have become a little too comfortable working from home have been offered $20 to come back into the office. The incentive is the work of campaign bigforsmall, which has seen companies offer the cash to workers for every day they're back at their desks in the CBD. The campaign is hoping staff will spend the extra cash on nearby small businesses that have been doing it tough amid Covid-19 lockdowns. Breathe HR, which is the company behind the campaign, have already starting giving their staff in Sydney and Melbourne the extra money, as has their parent company ELMO Software. Other large corporations are being encouraged to offer their own incentives to staff that commute into the office, such as longer lunch breaks or giving them extra time to get a haircut or manicure. A campaign is encouraging Australian companies to offer their staff $20 cash incentives to return to the office and use on small businesses (pictured workers in Sydney's CBD) The campaign is targeting Australians that have become comfortable working from home amid Covid-19 lockdowns ELMO Software CEO and co-founder Danny Lessem said small businesses had suffered the brunt of Sydney's exhausting four-month lockdown as well as the six lockdowns Melbourne was subjected to. 'They've been through an incredibly tough time during these lockdowns and need all of us to do our bit to help them get back to normal,' he said. 'Small businesses are major employers and contributors to economic output. Without them the economy is demonstrably worse off.' Since launching the campaign in mid October Mr Lessem said he'd seen a huge increase in the amount of staff returning to the office. 'It has been terrific, and people are spending a lot more than the $20,' he told news.com.au. Lockdowns have been thousands of Aussies work from home with small businesses suffering a loss of customers 'We have people buying their teammates lunch, buying books from independent booksellers, people buying vinyls at the local record store or flowers for their partners at the kiosk down the street.' He added that the small businesses that have managed to keep their heads above water so far were in urgent need of customers. 'If they don't make it through Christmas, they'll likely shut for good,' he said. ELMO has its head office in Sydney but also has offices in Perth, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra. The cash incentive will end in time for the Christmas break. Other corporations have signed up to the campaign such as financial platform nine25, software company Hronboard and tech business Vocam. Mr Lessem said he was hoping the incentives he was using within his own company would be picked up by other larger corporations around the country. The committee found that from 130 businesses around Australia, just over 50 per cent of bosses expected their staff to come into the office for three days a week. This in turn could drastically impact the small cafes and restaurants in the area that rely on everyday commuters. Large businesses are being encouraged to offer their own incentives to get staff back in the office and support nearby small businesses Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility