While many Australian businesses had to implement a new way of working when COVID-19 social distancing regulations came into play, The Evolving Workplace Report by Choosi shows these changes have led to more than half (54.1%) of Australian workers transitioning to remote and hybrid working models, as well as an increase in job satisfaction (83.1%).
In fact, a large majority (92.4%) of the country’s hybrid and remote workers are appreciative of how their employers dealt with this transition. At the same time, more than four in five (83.3%) of these workers report how much they love working from home, with a similar amount (81.5%) agreeing that working from home is a change that’s here to stay.
The Evolving Workplace Report by Choosi is part of an ongoing research series that explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian workforce.
Nearly half (49.0%) of remote or hybrid workers report that working from home has increased their productivity. More interestingly, a large proportion (95.5%) believe this increase in productivity is sustainable for the longer term.
Following this large-scale social experiment, three-fifths (67.6%) are confident their employers will continue with flexible work arrangements and feel as though they’ll want to take advantage of these post-pandemic.
Shadé Zahrai, career and workplace performance expert and keynote speaker on resilience, transformation and leadership, shared her comments on the future of the hybrid and virtual workforce:
“If employers take heed and move to a hybrid-virtual workforce, this will have considerable impacts on the future of work. Some of the challenges include the need to mitigate the negative impacts of working from home by finding ways to increase employee engagement, encourage greater collaboration and teamwork, roll-out proper training of leaders to manage remote teams, integrate learning and growth experiences for employees, and develop innovative and engaging ways to spruce the ‘boring’ dynamics of video meetings to reduce ‘Zoom fatigue’.”
When it comes to employee mental health and general wellbeing, Australians have high expectations of their employers supporting these needs. Nearly three-quarters (74.5%) of remote or hybrid workers highlight that it’s either a critical responsibility, or at least partly their employer’s responsibility to back these areas. Fortunately, two-thirds (66.7%) state their workplace has done enough to support these aspects during the pandemic.
“Given the increase in anxiety and uncertainty around job security, it’s imperative that organisations develop and implement specific frameworks to address mental and general wellbeing, which will continue to be an important aspect of the employee experience and a necessity for organisational culture and wellbeing,” Zahrai added.
When it comes to the transition back to the workplace, close to three-in-five (59.4%) believe it could be challenging. The key hurdles anticipated include getting used to a routine again (55.9%), safety fears (50.5%), dealing with commuting (46.1%), and loved ones/pets adjusting to them being gone again (36.3%).
Out of over 1,300 respondents to The Evolving Workplace by Choosi survey, four in 10 are permanently on-site, meanwhile three in 10 are permanently at home/remote. The remainder are working between the two locations or have since returned to work after a period of remote working.
