The most controversial word of 2023 – Flexibility.
Regardless of role type – from marketing to accounting to sales, from junior to senior – our key conversations as an experienced recruitment agency in Sydney centre around flexibility.
A study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US, found that “one in three Australians are searching for jobs that include remote work, and 35 per cent would resign or immediately start looking for a new job if their employer required them to return to the office full-time”. [source]
Employees can promote (at length) the benefits of working from home, such as:
- Reduced commute times, including improved sustainability and money savings.
- More productivity, as well as a sense of responsibility, trust, and ownership of time management.
- Improved health, due to less exposure to illness on public transport, and additional time for physical exercise.
- More opportunity for house ownership, due to the ability to live further away from CBDs.
On the opposing team, there is a strong agreement from employers that our workforce is missing out on a variety of benefits gained within an office environment, such as:
- Communication, social skills, and adaptability to manage different personalities.
- Team work and collaboration.
- Exposure to learning and development opportunities through observation and visibility.
- Accountability and improved results.
On 5 June 2023, a new law came into effect in Australia allowing most workers “the right to dispute a refusal of a flexible work request” [source]. The Fair Work Ombudsman of Australia, states that “employers can only refuse a request for a flexible working arrangement (made by an employee who is entitled to make the request) if they have ‘reasonable business grounds’.” [source] Reasonable grounds for refusal include: significant cost to the employer, fairness to other employees, and loss of efficiency or productivity.
Clearly there are still some grey areas.
As recruiters, our job is to consult between two parties. And, at this point, we feel much like the crocodile kid from the 90s health insurance advert “my legs went that way, and my head went that way”; we are torn between two vastly different preferences.
Our recommendation is on neutral ground, with split of 2-3 days in the office and the remainder from home. Generally, we are finding that the most organisations will assign set days, with the vast majority leaning towards Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in the office.
Is this the future of working? Is the full-time office worker a thing of the past?
Please reach out to one of our experienced recruitment consultants and share your take on this contentious discussion. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Alternatively, if you would like to have a confidential career conversation, please reach out to Amelia or another of our specialist recruiters today.
