Reticence to embrace flexible work is costing Australia

Less than half of Australians are currently able to work from home, but nearly three in four want the opportunity, research from Citrix shows.

In a report, the business software vendor said Australian employers are paying lip service to the concept of flexible work, but relatively few are following through. This inflexibility is potentially costing the Australian economy billions each year.

Currently, 56% of Australians are unable to work from home, even though 81% of businesses claim to offer flexible work practices.

According to the research, 72% of employees want the opportunity to work from home, with two in three workers saying that doing so would significantly improve their quality of life.

More flexible working environments could save Australia up to $108.7 million per week in travelling costs. Employees indicated that they would spend at least some of their commute time working, which translates to up to 82 million extra man-hours per week.

Flexible working could also help unlock the productivity potential of older workers, with 73% of people aged 55 to 69 indicating that they would work more hours and stay in the workforce longer if flexible options were available.

Citrix said this could add an additional 2.1 million potential work years to Australia’s productivity resources.

“Continuing to eschew flexible working in favour of ways of working familiar to our parents and grandparents presents serious consequences for Australia’s future,” commented Lindsay Brown, Citrix regional director for mobility apps.

“Australia’s increasingly knowledge-based economy needs to keep modernising to compete with other progressive countries.”

Image courtesy of jnyemb under CC