Majority of Australian firms do not mandate office presence

The majority of Australian businesses no longer mandate office presence, according to a survey by the Australian HR Institute (AHRI).

Out of almost 1,200 firms, only 4% required workers to work in the office full-time. Of those surveyed, 7% of companies allowed employees to work from home continuously, while 34% encouraged it but did not have a specific requirement for the number of days spent there.

Over half of the firms revealed that they were offering incentives like social gatherings and free coffee or meals to entice employees back to the workplace, according to News.com.au.

Over half of human resources professionals surveyed expected that remote working arrangements would remain the same over the next two years, while 25% expected that the levels of remote working would increase. This is despite 65% of them reporting that employees were feeling disconnected from their colleagues due to work from home arrangements.

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“Most organisations are thinking about hybrid work only in terms of location, but there are other factors that need to be considered,” said Sarah McCann-Bartlett, Chief Executive of AHRI. “Hybrid work models need to be designed with connection in mind. And those connections need to be meaningful.”