"We should be encouraging everyone to get back into their workplaces," Mr Stokes said at the state government's summer business summit on Friday. "Government should lead by example."

Loading

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said about 40 per cent of the state's public service was generally based in the city, however, that figure had plummeted to about 10 per cent as the vast majority of employees worked from home.

Mr Perrottet said he wanted to create an environment in the city that encouraged workers to return, rather than mandating it. He said public transport was crucial.

"If the public sector can get it right then I think the private sector will follow," he said.

"The political message needs to be the city is safe, the city is safe as a suburb is."

A spokeswoman for the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet said the majority of public service employees were working "on the front line in a range of workplace settings, in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic".

"Long-standing flexible working arrangements have continued and are balanced with COVID safe return-to-office measures, such as thinning out travel times on public transport and staggering office hours."

Loading

He said the government would be looking at the ideas generated at Friday's summit early next week and work with the City of Sydney and health officials to determine which could be implemented.

"This is not a talk-fest, this is getting ideas on the table," he said.

"All the ideas have merit, we'll put them on the table, we'll work closely with health [authorities] and we'll fight very hard to make sure we get our city as open as possible, and as active as possible, for summer."

The City of Sydney's most recent floor space and employment survey in 2018 showed 23,511 businesses in the city centre employed 501,786 people – the first time the number of workers in the city passed half a million.

Loading

Last month, SGS Economics and Planning economist Terry Rawnsley predicted the direct cost of pandemic restrictions, which forced many of those employees to work from home, would cost the CBD $7 billion. He said much of that cost would be felt by hospitality services, the arts and retail.

And the lack of interaction between the thousands of "knowledge workers" – such as finance, professional services, IT, marketing and media – who gathered daily in the CBD before the pandemic was expected to take an additional $3 billion toll on productivity.

The hospitality sector and the City of Sydney Council are also pushing to allow more outdoor dining and performances, longer opening hours for retail and cultural institutions and more flexible transport options.