Major WFH update for Aussie workers: 'Isn't going anywhere'
Work from home is still alive and kicking, with Australian employers now reaching a "stabilisation" of hybrid working arrangements for staff. Amazon, Tabcorp, Woolworths and Coles are some of the major employers that have ordered workers back into the office, but it appears demands for these mandates are dropping.
The number of employers who require employees to come into the office between three and five days a week dropped from 48 per cent in 2023 to 44 per cent in 2025, new research by the Australian HR Institute found. Meanwhile, the number of companies without office mandates increased from 25 to 28 per cent.
More than 80 per cent of the nearly 1,000 employers surveyed expected hybrid working would either increase or stay the same at their organisation over the next two years. The most popular work arrangement was three days in the office at 32 per cent.
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This was followed by there being no minimum requirement, but with encouragement for staff to attend the office at 28 per cent. Only 6 per cent said they had ordered a full-time return to the office.
AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett said hybrid working arrangements in Aussie workplaces had entered a "stabilisation phase'.
'Australian employers have made it clear – hybrid work isn't going anywhere, despite recent reports that it's being scaled back," she said.The research is in contrast to Robert Half's survey of 500 employers that found there had been a 'domino effect' in the return to office landscape, with 84 per cent of employers saying other businesses' mandates influenced their own arrangements.
Its research found 39 per cent of employers planned to mandate five days a week in the office for employees in 2025, up from 36 per cent in 2024.
It comes as work from home becomes a hot political debate, with the Coalition announcing plans to force public servants back to the office full-time before backflipping on the controversial move.
Labor analysis found workers would be about $4,976 worse off per year if they were forced back to the office between three to five days a week.
About 45 per cent of those surveyed by the AHRI said hybrid working had a positive impact on productivity, compared to 11 per cent who said it had a negative impact.
David Portway, head of culture at NDE Solutions, is one leader who is a fan of hybrid work arrangements.
He said the company's 150 employees 'love' the fact that they are allowed to work from home with the company imposing no minimum requirement for staff to attend the office.
'Previously one of my reports worked from home one day a week. He has quite a commute [around 160 kilometres round trip],' he said.
'One day, he very sheepishly asked me, hey, can I work at home two days a week? And I just said, yeah, sure. He was quite taken aback by that …
'He's a very productive guy and he has a great skill set, fantastic skills. And if I can make his life easier for him, I'm going to get more productivity out of him as an individual.'
Other benefits of hybrid work identified by employers included better work-life balance, higher retention rates, a greater ability to attract candidates, and enhanced health and wellbeing for employers.
The big drawbacks were a feeling of disconnection between colleagues, staff collaboration and monitoring of performance.Sign in to access your portfolio
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