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A poll of more than 2,500 workers conducted by recruiting firm Hays found the majority of Australians want remote working to stay in some capacity in a post-COVID world.
Just 21 per cent of professionals surveyed by Hays said the central office model is the most conducive to their productivity. The final 18 per cent nominated exclusive remote working.
“Social distancing measures have certainly proven that a large percentage of the workforce can work productively and successfully from home,” Nick Deligiannis, managing director of Hays in Australia and New Zealand, said.
“For many employees, overall performance, job satisfaction and work/life balance even increased, as less time was spent commuting or dealing with the distractions of office working.
“But at the same time, there are a number of employers who want to bring staff back into the one central office for the cultural and collaboration benefits that face-to-face working offers.”
Mr Deligiannis said given the results of the survey, a longer-term shift towards a hybrid working model could be the “ideal middle ground” that allows employees such as accountants to work flexibly on certain days of the week, then come together with colleagues in a central workplace on others.
“This would allow people to balance office life and remote working in a mix that works best for them and their employer, while offering the organisation the staff attraction and retention benefits that come from a flexible and digital employment model,” he said.
“Already as employers begin to encourage staff back to the office, they are reimagining their flexible working policies to accommodate a hybrid working model longer-term.
“Such employers are intentionally looking to the future and how they and their staff can benefit most effectively from this new way of working.”
Tony Zhang
AUTHOR
Tony Zhang is a journalist at Accountants Daily, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the accounting sector.
Since joining the Momentum Media team in 2020, Tony has written for a range of its publications including Lawyers Weekly, Adviser Innovation, ifa and SMSF Adviser. He has been full-time on Accountants Daily since September 2021.
You can email Tony at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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