Huge call on future of WFH in Australia
A major new report by the Productivity Commission has found working from home, in moderation, is actually more productive than being in the office full-time, debunking claims that the national shift to remote work is dragging down Australia's economy.
The landmark report, released this week, concludes hybrid arrangements, where employees split time between home and the office, tend to benefit both productivity and job satisfaction, especially by cutting down on lengthy commutes.
'Allowing workers to work from home some days can improve worker satisfaction and allows people to benefit by avoiding the commute to work, meaning they have additional time for other purposes,' the Commission said.
It found the rise in working from home since the Covid-19 pandemic is not to blame for Australia's recent productivity slump.
'Remote work also reduces breaks and sick days, and results in less distractions, all of which are typically found to be beneficial for productivity,' the report said. A major new report by the Productivity Commission has found that working from home, in moderation, is actually more productive than being in the office full-time. Credit: istock
By August 2024, 36 per cent of Australians with a job reported they usually worked from home, up from just 12 per cent before the pandemic. During peak lockdowns in 2020, more than 30 per cent worked from home on most days.
Despite fears that staff would be less productive at home, the Commission found hybrid work (working some days remotely and some days in the office) tends to be beneficial to productivity, or at least, not detrimental to productivity.
However, the report noted not all workers benefit equally. While working from home is especially popular with women, many who juggle childcare responsibilities, less experienced workers may lose out.
'For less experienced workers, in-person interactions may be an important avenue for skill development as there may be a greater knowledge transfer from senior workers and junior workers through informal in-person interactions,' it said.
'A key reason for this is that in-person interactions may be better for collaborative tasks and idea generation.' By August 2024, 36 per cent of Australians with a job reported they usually worked from home, up from just 12 per cent before the pandemic. During peak lockdowns in 2020, more than 30 per cent worked from home on most days. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia
The Commission cited evidence from engineering firms showing in-person meetings sparked more creative ideas, although remote and hybrid teams were just as effective when it came to evaluating and selecting those ideas.
The broader productivity crisis, which saw national labour productivity fall by 1.2 per cent in 2024, is instead being driven by a lack of new investment in technology.
'Capital matters for productivity because more capital (the machines, equipment and other durable goods that are used as inputs in production) means workers can produce more goods and services,' the Commission said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, speaking to the Australian Business Economists this week, said boosting productivity growth would be a key challenge for the Albanese Government.
'Australia's 20-year average productivity growth has declined from 1.8 per cent to 0.8 per cent over that period,' Mr Kennedy said. Despite fears that staff would be less productive at home, the Commission found that hybrid work tends to be beneficial to productivity, or at least, not detrimental to productivity. Credit: The Advertiser
While some employers, including the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Woolworths, are pushing staff back into the office three days a week, the report suggests a flexible hybrid model could be the best long-term solution.
Politically, the issue remains sensitive after former Liberal leader Peter Dutton lost his seat following his support for a plan to force Canberra-based public servants back to their desks, a move that sparked widespread backlash from remote workers.
The Commission said that although the evidence on working from home is still evolving, most studies find hybrid work to be either neutral or positive for labour productivity.
'There is no evidence to suggest that the trend towards hybrid working has contributed to the productivity loss phase of the productivity bubble,' the report said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘What Australia needs': Qantas' chief rival looks to soar back onto ASX
Investors and stakeholders have greeted the terms of Virgin Australia's public listing with enthusiasm as the country's second-largest airline seeks to promote a more employee- and consumer-friendly image in the wake of rival Qantas' record. Bankers for Virgin Australia are offering shares in the airline to investors at $2.90 apiece for its much-anticipated relisting on the ASX after a four-year odyssey through administration and privatisation. Transport Workers Union assistant national secretary Emily McMillan said she was 'cautiously optimistic' for Virgin's IPO. 'I think overall, it is positive.' 'Now we're dealing with a stable, growing, profitable airline, which is what Australia needs – and certainly, what its workforce needs.' As Virgin Australia struggled out of administration in 2020 and rebuilt a more simplified domestic business, Qantas – under the leadership of then-chief executive Alan Joyce – was engaged in a series of industrial relations battles that appeared to damage its public image. Following a case that pitted Qantas against the TWU, the airline agreed in 2024 to pay $120 million in compensation to 1820 ground staff whose contracts were found to have been illegally terminated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Private equity owner Bain Capital will sell about 30 per cent of Qantas' biggest rival, expecting to raise $685 million via the initial public offering, which would value the company at close to $2.3 billion. The $2.90 price tag for the stock represents a multiple of seven times the airline's expected earnings this financial year, the bankers handling the sale said in their pitch to investors. That's cheaper than Qantas shares, which trade at around 10 times expected earnings for the same period.
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Trump advisor encourages Australia to further invest in defence to show US it takes threats to national security 'seriously'
A senior advisor to President Donald Trump has issued a warning to Australia over its defence spending, suggesting it needed to improve in order to strengthen its relationship with the United States. Sebastian Gorka, who serves as the deputy assistant to the president and the senior director for counterterrorism in the Trump administration discussed Australia's defence investment during an exclusive interview with Sharri Markson on Sky News on Wednesday. Australia's investment in defence has come under the spotlight in the past week, after it was highlighted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) that the government risks falling behind in its military preparedness amid rising global threats. In the report, former home affairs deputy secretary Mark Ablong concluded "the failure of this year's budget to meet that responsibility will make all Australians less secure". "Without urgent, coordinated and well resourced responses to those challenges, Australia risks a brittle and hollowed defence force, diminished industrial sovereignty, and compromised national security in a volatile Indo Pacific region," he wrote. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brushed off the report, sticking by Labor's investment in defence, but the US has sent the message it is not satisfied with Australia's commitment. Mr Gorka said his relationship with Australian representatives had been positive so far, describing Australia as one of America's "closest partners in national security". "I think what (President Trump's) said to NATO nations, what he did in the first administration to get those who weren't paying enough into the collective defence alliance that is NATO and how he got them to do so speaks for itself. only been here for, what, four months. And I've had several meetings with our colleagues, our Australian counterterrorism, national security colleagues. It has been a delight," he said. However, he said Australia had to take national security seriously and the manner in which it responds to threats will determine how strong its relationship with the US will be. "I say to you what I say every nation. You are measured by how seriously you take the threats to your citizens, to your sovereignty. And if you wish to be understood as friends, as allies, and partners, that requires certain traits and certain behaviours to be met," Mr Gorka said. "Committing to your own defence so we are stronger together is clearly one of them So the people of Australia, the government they choose will decide the exact percentages of GDP, but I think the President will have an opinion when he meets with his Australian counterpart." Mr Gorka's comments come after US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth last week flagged Australia needed to lift its investment to about 3.5 per cent of GDP to his counterpart Defence Minister Richard Marles during a meeting in Singapore. The Deputy Prime Minister later said Mr Hegseth raised the issue of defence spending after the US had asked its NATO allies to raise their spending. "I wouldn't put a number on it. The need to increase defence spending is something that he definitely raised and you have seen the Americans in the way in which they have engaged with all of their friends and allies asking them to do more and we can completely understand why America would do that," he told ABC's Afternoon Briefing. "What I made clear is that this is a conversation that we are very willing to have and it is one that we are having already... but we want to make sure that we are contributing to the strategic moment that we all face. "We have done a lot already, but we are absolutely up for having this conversation and we want to calibrate our defence spending to meet the strategic moment that we all face."
Canberra Times
9 hours ago
- Canberra Times
'Worst house, best street': The complete reinvention of a Northcote property
When Amy and her partner Mat purchased 34 Andrew Street in 2015, they had only viewed it once. "At the auction no one was bidding and it was about to be passed in, so we put in a bid and luckily got to purchase it once it passed in," she says. The couple purchased the property after only viewing it once. Pic: Supplied. Despite it being a case of "worst house, best street", Amy and Mat could see the potential in the property. The original house was a "very basic workers cottage", but the pair were drawn to it because they had always wanted to renovate a house in Northcote. After renting it out while they were living overseas, the couple returned when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and borders began to close. Three years, and two children later, Amy and Mat were running low on space. VIEW LISTING:34 Andrew Street, Northcote, VIC "We had to move into the dining room to sleep and both children were bathed in the laundry sink," Amy recalls. "It was small, but cosy." However, due to structural issues with the house, the couple decided it was time to update the property. Rather than renovate the original home, Amy and Mat decided to create a completely new house suited to their needs. Pic: Supplied. "The old house had begun to sink so far into the ground that a dummy floor had to be laid so we weren't walking on a lean." While the original plan was to renovate the existing house, architects James Lane and Tom Eckersley helped the couple see another side. The centrepiece Escea fireplace. Pic: Supplied. "They made a compelling point that we were not living in the past, so why not create something that reflects how we live today, rather than replicating a bygone era we never actually experienced," Amy says. "That comment really resonated with us and the twisting shape of Andrew Street was created." Wanting to repurpose as much of the old house as possible, a friend helped the couple carefully remove the old weatherboards and salvage the classic Northcote red bricks before demolition. Having grass for the kids to play on was important for the couple. Pic: Supplied. "Our incredibly talented next door neighbour then crafted the weatherboards into our current front door and also built the bench seat out the front," she says. "The salvaged Northcote red bricks found a new life in the outdoor entertaining areas. "A little bit of the past is still present in the future." When it came to designing the new home, functionality was at the top of the list. One of the bedrooms with built-in robes. Pic: Supplied. "We wanted the house to grow with our family of four," Amy says. "We wanted grass for the kids to play on, and we are big entertainers so the whole house needed to know how to party." The new outdoor area is now perfectly set up for entertaining with lush grass, inbuilt barbecue, wood-fired pizza oven, alfresco dining area and lap pool. With both of their in-laws living in country Victoria, the self-contained unit above the garage was created to accommodate them on trips to Melbourne. One of the bathrooms featuring twin sinks, generous storage and a calming neutral colour palette. Pic: Supplied. "They love the space, and the fact that they can have sleep-ins when they are staying with us." Thinking about her favourite aspects of the property, Amy says seeing the pool when she walks in is definitely at the top of her list. "The way it reflects off the walls and roof inside the home is super cool," she says. "Also, coming home to the fire in winter is the best." Amy loves the reflection of the pool on the walls and floor in the house. Pic: Supplied. Amy and Mat have made the decision to put the house on the market, and although they will miss it, they believe the new owners "will be thrilled". "It's such a well-designed home, there are no wasted spaces. It's intimate and warm." 34 Andrew Street, Northcote is currently listed for sale by Sam Rigopoulos and Paula Beavis from Jellis Craig price guide is $3.3 million to $3.5 million. An auction is scheduled for June 28 at 1pm.
