Australian workers would quit their jobs if they weren’t allowed to work from home

A sizeable number of Australians would quit their job if their boss refused to let them work from home and didn’t share their political values.

Sydney employers are facing $10,000 fines if they force their staff to unnecessarily come into the office during the lockdown.

After the restrictions ease, bosses could struggle to keep talented staff if they force them to physically come into work, with job vacancies at a 12-year high before the Sydney and Melbourne restrictions began.

Workplace software giant Atlassian, which turned its 41-year-old Generation X co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar into billionaires, found 42 per cent of Australian workers would consider changing jobs to have more access to remote work.

Half of Generation Y professionals, born during the 1980s and early 1990s, would look for another job to have this flexibility compared with just 22 per cent of baby boomers. 

Atlassian’s survey of 1,225 Australian employees, done by PricewaterhouseCoopers in February and March 2021, found 64 per cent believed their bosses had been flexible during the pandemic in allowing them to work away from the office.

Information technology and media were the most flexible, with 83 per cent of professionals in those sectors reporting they had been allowed to work from home at some point.

Less than half or just 46 per cent of retail workers had been given the chance to do remote work, despite the boom in online sales.

Only 45 per cent of health workers were allowed to work from home, in a sector requiring more face-to-face contact despite the emergence of telehealth.

Workplace flexibility isn’t the only sticking point for younger professionals who also want their employer to have views which align with their values.  

Workplace software giant Atlassian, which turned its 41-year-old Generation X co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured with wife Annie) and Scott Farquhar into billionaires, found 42 per cent of Australian workers would consider changing jobs to have more access to remote work

More than a third or 37 per cent of employees said they would quit their job if their employer acted in a way that didn’t align with their beliefs.

But close to half or 44 per cent of Generation Z staff, born during the late 1990s onwards, would quit if the workplace didn’t reflect their views – a 15 percentage point increase since 2020.

Younger workers also want to be allowed to discuss politics at work with 74 per cent of Generation Z staff backing free speech in the office, compared with 59 per cent of  their Generation X colleagues born between 1966 and 1979 and 50 per cent of baby boomers.

Almost one in five, or 17 per cent, of staff across all age groups wanted their boss to support a political candidate as a way of addressing societal issues, even though many workplaces like the public service have to be politically neutral. 

More than a third or 37 per cent of employees said they would quit their job if their employer acted in a way that didn’t align with their values (pictured is a Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras protest). But close to half or 44 per cent of Generation Z staff, born during the late 1990s onwards, would quit if the workplace didn’t reflect their views – a 15 percentage point increase since 2020

Half of Generation Y professionals, born during the 1980s and early 1990s, would look for another job to have this flexibility compared with just 22 per cent of baby boomers

Information technology and media were the most flexible, with 83 per cent of professionals in those sectors reporting they had been allowed to work from home at some point