A new report from the Productivity Commission has discovered that more Australians will be working from home even when COVID-19 restrictions ease.
The Productivity Commission’s research paper ‘Working from Home’ found that the huge numbers of employees shifting to a work-from-home (WFH) scenario could increase the country’s productivity levels.
While fewer than eight per cent of Australians were in a WFH scenario before the pandemic happened, that number has since increased to 40 per cent.
Productivity Commission chairman Michael Brennan said the surge of people working from home would be the biggest shift in employment in decades.
‘It is inevitable that more Australians will work from home,’ he said.
‘The forced experiment of COVID-19 has greatly accelerated take up of technology, including that which assists working from home opportunities.’
The report recommended that governments should support the transition of more WFH employees as jurisdictions emerge from lockdown.
Three-quarters of employees that were surveyed said they considered themselves as more productive in a WFH environment compared to being in the office.
Chairman Brennan said after a mass rollout of WFH setups during the first stage of the pandemic, many businesses and employees were currently trialling which model of working was best for them.
‘Working from home won’t suit everyone or every business, but for many employees, working from home arrangements will be a factor in deciding which job to take,’ he said.
‘Some employees have indicated they would be prepared to take less pay in return for the ability to work from home.’
The report showed that workers who are able to spend two days at home would result in 13 per cent of all employment hours in the country being worked remotely.
Despite mentioning that working remotely reduced the levels of an employee’s physical activity, the Productivity Commission said the increase of WFH employees represented a positive gain to society.
‘The central workplace will remain the dominant model for the foreseeable future,’ the report said.
‘But the increase in working from home is potentially of great benefit to a substantial portion of the Australian workforce.’
With news from AAP.