The shift to working from home caused by the pandemic is one of the biggest changes to the way we work in the past 50 years, according to the Productivity Commission.
Chair of the Productivity Commission Michael Brennan said that in less than two years the country had gone from less than 8 per cent of Australians working from home to 40 per cent.
“While this percentage may not always remain so high it is inevitable that more Australians will work from home,” he said.
A report released by the Productivity Commission investigates how the move to working from home may impact Australia’s economy generally and individuals’ income, employment opportunities and health and wellbeing.
“On balance working from home can unlock significant gains in terms of flexibility and time for employees and could even increase the nation’s productivity,” Mr Brennan said.
“Risks can be managed but we should keep an eye on them and be ready to intervene if necessary.”
The report says all indications suggest we should not stand in the way of this evolution.
The pandemic created a “forced experiment” where suddenly working from home had become much more common, accepted and expected by employees and employers.
The next wave of experimentation will see employees and employers choosing to implement work from home models that work for both parties.
“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,” Mr Brennan said.
“Some employees have even indicated they would be prepared to take less pay in return for the ability to work from home.”
The Commission’s report says that at this stage governments should support the work from home transition and don’t need to take any immediate direct action.
“There is a long history of technology enabling different ways of working. The forced experiment of COVID-19 has greatly accelerated take up of technology including that which assists working from home opportunities,” Mr Brennan said.
The report on Working from Home can be found here.
