Enjoy working from home? Good news. In 2024, flexible working conditions will likely remain the norm, according to new research from online job site SEEK.
The report found that the percentage of job ads that included flexible working conditions or indicated the role could be fulfilled from home reached its highest point last April at 11 per cent. Last month, it dropped to 9.4 per cent, however it remains higher than before the pandemic.
A senior economist at SEEK revealed that jobs in human resources and recruitment had the biggest drop in roles offering flexible working arrangements. Meanwhile, other white-collar sectors such as consulting have remained near the 11 per cent figures from last April, highlighting how the ability to work from home is still valued by many employees.
The SEEK report attributes a shift in the types of jobs that are being advertised as the reason for the gradual fall in WFH jobs advertised.
As the number of people employed continues to fall however, employers might begin to exert greater pressure to get people to return to the office. And employees might have no choice but to concede, especially since ABS data released last week showed the number of Australians in employment fell by 65,100 last month.
The industries experiencing the biggest fall in jobs available include finance, IT and media sectors, while jobs in hospitality and tourism increased compared to this time last year.
SEEK’s senior economist Matt Cowgill believes that with the cooling market, the proportion of jobs advertised with flexible conditions may continue to fall.
“The cooling labour market likely does mean that employers have a bit more ability to try and bring people back to the office where they can,” Cowgill told ABC.
In the past year, big companies including ANZ, insurer Suncorp, and electricity retailer Origin Energy have encouraged their employees to return to the office by offering bonuses conditional on being back at the office.
Meanwhile, giants including Google, Meta and Amazon have asked its employees to do at least three days a week at the office, warning them that compliance with that guideline will be considered in their performance reviews.