A national survey of Australia interviewed 1,421 Australian knowledge workers in March 2022. The aim of the survey is to study the difference in working arrangements among hybrid, remote, and office work in Australia. 

In this survey, it shows that flexibility makes employees happier due to hybrid working.

Flexibility leads, survey shows

The survey sample was nationally representative of state and age populations, including 58% of males and 42% of females.   

The survey asked participants a total of 46 questions, covering their current work arrangements, ideal work arrangements, health and well-being, workplace culture, skills changes and communication technologies…etc.

The survey shows that: 

• 54% of workers are following a hybrid work model; 
• 23% of workers still working remotely full-time, and; 
• 22.9% of workers return to the office full-time. 

Compared to the beginning of the epidemic, the report shows only 28% of Australian knowledge workers had the chance to work remotely for any part of the week prior to the pandemic.

This indicates significant growth in hybrid work and shows lots of workers would like to work with hybrid work as it is a flexible work style. 

Hybrid work wins as it provides more flexibility

Until today, many places in Australia have adopted flexible working arrangements and the companies have offered different working styles for employees to choose from.

Combine with other reports, the result of the research shows that there are three main types of hybrid work. Moreover, three hybrid work styles individually have lots of supporters: 

1. Fixed days in office: 15% of all respondents said that they need to return to the office on some selected day, such as Monday and Wednesday, and this style is suitable for 29% of hybrid workers. 
2. Fixed office frequency: 13.1% of all respondents said that they have more flexibility than the first style as they can choose which days need to return to the office in a week, and this style is suitable for 24.3% of hybrid workers. 
3. Flexibility to choose: 15.4% of all survey respondents said that they can choose to work where they work and when, and it is suitable for 28.5% of hybrid workers. 

Australians: Hybrid work makes us happier, and work more flexibly 

According to the national survey, part of the survey asked participants to indicate their satisfaction with their current work arrangement on a five-point scale from “very unhappy” to “very happy”. 

Nearly 94% of flexible workers said they were happy or very happy with this arrangement. It is the highest rate compared with 88.5% of workers working remotely full-time, and 70.6% of workers going into the office full-time. 

For the question asking participants ideal work arrangements, they are taking care about of having control over the location where they work and when (23.0%), followed by working remotely full-time (22.8%). 

Hybrid work benefits for well-being and welfare of workers 

30% of workers said they now have a better work-life balance than they did two years ago, compared with less than 8.7% of workers who think it has worsened. 

Over a quarter (27.4%) said flexible working time and location provide them with a better work-life balance, so that they can have more time to enhance their life quality and wellness. 

Increasing workers’ well-being and welfare

Most of the reports are showed that flexibility is important for taking care of employees’ well-being, and the reason is that it has a variety of advantages. Some of the main benefits are like these: 

1. Increasing employees’ productivity: A hybrid office provides a place that gathers new workers and experienced, therefore the new workers can work with instant help from experienced through face-to-face conversation. 
2. Fostering a sense of belonging to a company: A hybrid office has a co-meeting area, which allows the staff for gathering and meeting. With regular meetings, the new workers have more opportunities to understand the company’s culture. 
3. Retain the talents and have a positive impact on developing a company: If the employees feel happy at their work, they will not resign from their jobs. Therefore, lots of manpower has a positive impact on the development of a company. 

What is the requirement to implement hybrid work?  

To implement hybrid work, your hybrid office should work with a comprehensive office management system. It allows you to have flexibility at work, which means you can use any available desk, room, and equipment in the office, and work at the location you wanted.  

ONES is one of the famous all-in-one smart office systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease. You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features.      

 
Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/.     

The post The Australian national study shows that flexibility makes us happier  first appeared on ONEs Blog.

Hybrid work trends in Australia 

Major business groups have reacted angrily to calls from state and federal chief health officers for businesses to encourage employees to work from home again in light of the rising number of COVID-19 cases, arguing that such a move would jeopardize the economic recovery.

Larger employers declared they wouldn’t alter their current work rules. The Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank declared they will keep the current hybrid policy, which mandates that employees come into the workplace a predetermined number of days each week. As well as accountancy behemoths Deloitte and PwC, digital companies Atlassian and Canva also declared they will keep full flexibility.

Some small and medium-sized businesses have permanently relaxed return-to-work regulations that previously stipulated that employees must be present at the workplace for a predetermined number of days.

Based on Swinburne University of Technology Report, before Covid 19 started, 57% of workers preferred the traditional way of working – working in an office.

During the epidemic, since workers were not able to return to the office, 35.4% of workers said that they became accustomed to working from home. Today, a survey reported that 37.8% of workers prefer to work flexibly to achieve a balance between life and work. 

More hybrid working trends: https://ones.software/blog/2022/09/14/10-hybrid-work-trends-in-australia/

The Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank recently have stated that they will maintain their existing hybrid policies, which require employees to visit the office a certain number of days per week. Meanwhile, tech firms Atlassian and Canva, as well as accounting behemoths such as EY and PwC, have stated that they will maintain complete flexibility.

Some small and medium-sized businesses have permanently relaxed return-to-work regulations that had stipulated that employees must be present at the workplace for a predetermined number of days.

Flexible work can retain talents 

The main reason why hybrid working will keep in Australia is that it provides flexibility to both employers and employees which can retain talents.

Based on Swinburne University of Technology Report, 43% of Australian knowledge workers said they would consider leaving an employer that does not offer flexible working for one that does, rising to 46% in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Also, by the response from Gen Z workers, the leading reasons they want to return to the office are to avoid distractions at home (e.g., roommates), for their mental health and well-being and to maintain relationships with colleagues, and to feel included.

These young workers would prefer to work in the office for 3 days each week. In the other working time (around 2 days), they would like to work remotely.

If the employers do not offer flexible working to the employees, most of the workers expect a pay rise as their leading trade-off. Another top two and three reasons for respondents are they want more leave or time off and better job security.  

In the survey, 13% of respondents said flexible working is non-negotiable, and that could make many employees a flight risk in search of roles that are flexible. Only 15% of workers said they didn’t need to convince them to stay. 

What would you need to work in the hybrid office?  

So how to implement your first hybrid office in order to keep your talents?

ONES is one of the famous all-in-one smart office systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease. You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features.    

You can also explore our leaflet to understand more of our features: https://ones.software/assets/booking/main/2022_ONES_leaflet_v1.pdf   

Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/.   

The post Hybrid working will stay in enterprises in Australia first appeared on ONEs Blog.

After the epidemic, companies around the world are popularly implementing hybrid work and this will remain to become a new norm.

What is Hybrid work? 

Hybrid work is an approach that takes into account the individual’s needs, whether they’re at home or at the office. Our platform enables people to work from any location, and move between sites as needed. 

Many organizations see hybrid work as the evolution of remote working, allowing employers to better integrate remote working into overall business processes while providing comparable work experience for remote workers. 

As Australia plans for the post-COVID19 era, a renewed focus has been placed on the future of work. Moreover, Australia had an above-average level of working from home in 2020 (47%).  (Tesltra) 

Hybrid work trends in Australia 

Before Covid 19 started, 57% of workers preferred the traditional way of working – working in an office. During the epidemic, since workers were not able to return to the office, 35.4% of workers said that they became accustomed to working from home.

Today, a survey reported that 37.8% of workers prefer to work flexibly to achieve a balance between life and work. (Swinburne University of Technology Report) 

Hybrid working in an Australian state or territory 

A report by Telstra finds that businesses adopting a hybrid model are 28% more likely to deliver new and innovative products or services to the market. 

Also, some factors cause the Australian state or territory’s adoption of hybrid working, such as the company policies or recommendations of the Government. 

The Government lockdowns in Victoria likely drove the state’s high adoption rate. During COVID-19, the biggest increases in hybrid working have occurred in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, and New South Wales (NSW). (Telstra) 

The potential economic impact of hybrid work in Australia 

Hybrid working reduces long-entrenched barriers to employees, such as the problem of the distance between the workplace and home, long work hours, and high travel expenses.  

By estimation, hybrid work can attract 53,500 extra people to enter the labor force in the future, and then the workforce has the potential to deliver significant economic benefits to Australia, increasing national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $18.3 billion and creating additional 42,500 full-time jobs by 2030-31. (Telstra) 

Flexible work can retain talents 

Talent is an important resource for companies. During the epidemic, the epidemic of remote work has caused a high global brain drain.

43% of Australian knowledge workers said they would consider leaving an employer that does not offer flexible working for one that does, rising to 46% in Sydney and Melbourne. (Swinburne University of Technology Report)

Australia’s Gen Z is the main workforce 

In Australia, Gen Z workers prefer flexible working (46%) twice as much as Baby Boomers (23%). There are around three-fifths of the knowledge workforce made up of Millennials and Gen Z workers, therefore generational change will lock in a flexible working future to their needs. 

(Swinburne University of Technology Report)

The needs of Australia’s Gen Z 

According to Gen Z workers, the leading reasons they want to return to the office are to avoid distractions at home (e.g., roommates), for their mental health and well-being and to maintain relationships with colleagues, and to feel included. They would prefer to work in the office for 3 days each week.

In the other working time (around 2 days), they would like to work remotely. (Swinburne University of Technology Report) 

The impact of implementing hybrid working on Australia Businesses 

Hybrid Working Impact on Quality 

Since implementing hybrid working, the quality of work has improved and impacted the following industries: (Telstra) 

• 66% of businesses are in technology and media; 
• 63% in banking, finance, and insurance; and 
•  29% in retail. 

Hybrid Working Impact on Creativity 

52% of businesses in mining, energy, and resources and 50% in technology have increased creativity since implementing hybrid working. The reasons are the following like these: 

1. Hybrid working increases the opportunities to collaborate, co-design, and engage in cross-functional teaming. (Telstra) 

2. Hybrid working can lead to greater team diversity, work styles, ways of collaborating and generating ideas –all of which can drive creativity. (Telstra) 

Trade-off for Businesses not offering remote work and hybrid work

If the employers do not offer flexible working to the employees, most of the workers expect a pay rise as their leading trade-off.

Another top two and three reasons for respondents are they want more leave or time off and better job security.  

In the survey, 13% of respondents said flexible working is non-negotiable, and that could make many employees a flight risk in search of roles that are flexible.

Only 15% of workers said they didn’t need to convince them to stay.

(Swinburne University of Technology Report) 

Reasons why Australians choose against work in the office  

The costs of the commute are the top reason why Australians don’t want to work in the office. 

However, the main issue is they don’t want to lose the flexible working hours which are the common factor of second and third reasons. Loss of flexibility at work could not protect their work-life balance.

(Swinburne University of Technology Report) 

Reasons why Australians choose to work at office/client location

The top reason many workers want to work in the office is they think that the office is better to set up for work.

For example, some department workers need to have face-to-face meetings with the clients, therefore they need meeting rooms to serve the clients. The top second and third reasons are collaboration in person and relationships with colleagues.

These three top reasons show that the goal of working in the office is for employees to want to connect with others. (Swinburne University of Technology Report) 

What would you need to work in the hybrid office?  

ONES is one of the famous all-in-one smart office systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease. You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features.    

You can also explore our leaflet to understand more of our features: https://ones.software/assets/booking/main/2022_ONES_leaflet_v1.pdf   

Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/.   

The post 10+ Hybrid Work Trends to Watch in Australia first appeared on ONEs Blog.