The telltale sign working from home is now part of everyday life for working Aussies – despite infuriating the boss
More than one third of Australians are still working from home (WFH) in a sign flexible working conditions have become the norm despite irritating 82 per cent of bosses.
Analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Committee for Economic Development of Australia revealed WFH conditions have stayed consistent over the last two years.
But the latest data from the Director Sentiment Index Survey by the Australian Institute of Company Directors shows 82 per cent of Aussie bosses want their workers back in offices full-time.
About 36 per cent of Australian workers reported regularly working from home in August, only slightly down from 37 per cent in 2023.
In 2016, WFH was only available to five per cent of workers.
A large portion of those choosing to take advantage of flexible working conditions were managers and professionals at 60 per cent, unchanged from 2023.
Meanwhile, only 21 per cent of other occupations WFH.
Flexibility was the main reason people chose to WFH at 25 per cent, while nearly 24 per cent said they had a home-based job and 20 per cent used WFH to catch up on tasks outside of office hours.
More than one third Australians are still working from home, years after the Covid pandemic
Hybrid workers showed high job satisfaction and lower quite rates, particularly non-managers, female employees and those with long commutes
CEDA highlighted some statistics which showed people who were ‘previously less likely to have a job continue to benefit from the shift to hybrid work’, including eight per cent of women who WFH for childcare and family reasons.
‘New Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey data released last week shows workforce participation in jobs where people could work from home jumped by nine per cent for women with young children and 4.4 per cent for people with a disability or health condition from 2019 to 2023,’ it said.
However, the results may not be enough to change the minds of the many bosses who wish to see workers permanently in offices.
‘A KPMG survey of more than 1,300 CEOs across 11 countries found 83 per cent now expect a full return to the office within the next three years, a notable increase from 64 per cent in 2023. In Australia, the result was similar, at 82 per cent,’ CEDA said.
The committee urged bosses to consider the benefits of flexible working arrangements, including access to a larger hiring pool.
A recent study by Stanford University Economics Professor Nicholas Bloom found several other positives to WFH arrangements, including improved employee retention.
The randomised study, published in Nature earlier this year, surveyed more than 1,600 workers at a Chinese tech company.
Those who worked from home two days a week had high job satisfaction and lower quite rates by one-third.
About two-thirds of Australian company directors agreed flexible working conditions improved staff retention
The biggest positive difference was noticed among non-managers, female employees and those with long commutes.
Furthermore, the research found no difference in performance grades or promotion rates for hybrid workers over a two-year period.
About two-thirds of Australian company directors agreed flexible working conditions improved staff retention, attraction and health, ACID found.
‘Their views on the impact of working from home on productivity and innovation have improved slightly over the last year but remain negative – only 39 per cent believe that work from home is good for productivity, while only 28 per cent believe work from home is good for innovation,’ CEDA said.
However, with hybrid working conditions evidenced as a major incentive for employees, the committee urged bosses not to make the change ‘an industrial relations battleground’.
