A new study by Mercer highlights the growing importance of flexible work arrangements in attracting and retaining top talent. With 89% of Australian organizations offering remote work options and companies experimenting with four-day workweeks, the article explores how businesses are adapting to evolving employee needs and the benefits of this shift, including improved work-life balance, diversity, and overall performance.
The Rise of Flexible Work
A recent study by Mercer once again underscored the merit of flexible working as Amazon announced its requirement for full-time office returns, less than a month ago. About 89% of Australian employers are yet to consider reducing home working long-term, according to the 2024 Employee Benefits Review, with an average number of mandated office days sitting at around three each week.
This move towards flexibility is influenced by a number of things including the challenge to find and hang on to exceptional people, the imminent need for an engaged workforce, and a great place to work. The research also indicates that flexibility might come at a price for some Australian workers, with one-third prepared to reduce their salary in exchange for greater control over when and where they work.
That is in stark contrast to the renewed calls from some businesses, such as Tabcorp, to bring staff back to the office. But not all leaders are equally keen to endorse that model—as evidenced by the swift walk back from Google and Microsoft upper management, who have promised employees that hybrid schedules will persist until productivity metrics suggest otherwise.
The Benefits of Flexible Work
The (PDF) Mercer report drove home the many benefits of flexible work schedules, assuming they are properly managed. Flexible work can help to create a positive workplace culture, promote diversity and inclusion, and increase the pools of talent on offer.
More than just offering remote work, 77% of the firms in the survey allow staff to modify their start and finish times while five percent let their workers cut one day off the working week for the same pay. The trend towards the four-day work week in a ‘100:80:100’ model is developing, alongside experimentation with a ‘compressed working year,’ as well as supporters of full-time employees taking periods where they work 80% for 4 years and take five-year leave.
The research shows that it is not just workers who gain from flexible work arrangements, but employers too. Firms that understand the linkage of employee needs to business objectives can craft a workplace that prizes work-life balance leading to superior talent attraction & retention and overall performance.
THE WORKFORCE: CHANGES IN CULTURE AND THE DEVELOPING WORKPLACE
While culture is changing within workplaces with flexible work firmly in place across many corporate Australia Almost 60% of organizations now position their culture as a ‘work-life’ balance, celebrating people more than ever while not taking the focus off performance.
This adjustment complements studies that demonstrate a strong synergy between agility, employee enjoyment, effectiveness, and performance. And while work arrangements are just one of the many flex types, according to Mercer this is no longer enough in a flexible workforce where flexibility now includes career development and training opportunities; parental leave; part-time work; annual leave and soon support for financial well-being.
Not surprisingly, 65% of organizations now provide health and well-being classes (up from 37% in the past five years), while 29% offer financial wellness programs. Whether it is bringing a broad new perception towards flexibility, businesses get the chance to react rapidly to their workforce’s changing needs or fabricate work environments that esteem a working society that respects work-life balance among employees and bosses.
