Employers looking for ‘tradeoff’ with demands for flexible work

Employers across Australia are attempting to establish a "middle ground" as they give in to employees' demands for flexible work, according to a new report.

Robert Half's latest survey among 300 hiring managers revealed that employers are already introducing a variety of flexible work benefits for employees.

However, a majority of employers want some kind of "tradeoff" for the flexibility that they've been granting staff.

According to the findings, employers want their staff to spend more time in the office despite getting more flexibility at work.

Nicole Gorton, director at Robert Half, said the situation demonstrates how employers are "rethinking" their policies around flexible work.

"Business leaders are striving to find a harmonious middle ground between staff autonomy and the face-to-face contact they have with employees," Gorton said in a media release.

Flexible arrangements introduced

The most common arrangement offered to employees is work hours that are more flexible than the traditional 9am to 5pm, which has been introduced by nearly half (49%) of the respondents. Other arrangements include:

• Access to additional leave days, such as mental health days (45%)
• Hybrid working conditions to work from home three or more days a week (44%)
• Hybrid working conditions allowing staff to choose when they come into the office (42%)

In a step towards greater flexibility, 37% of employers said they are planning to introduce a four-day work week, which has been growing momentum across Australia and the world.

Another 35% said they plan to introduce a nine-day fortnight, where staff will work hours of 10 days in nine days.

'Give and take' with flexible benefits

But 71% of employers are expecting a "some give and take" when they introduce these flexible work benefits, according to the report.

Among them, 37% said they want employees to work in the office for four to five days a week. A quarter (25%) also said they want to require staff to work in the office more often than they do.

Another 23%, however, are taking it out on compensation as they said salary is lower with flexible work than in the traditional 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday work week.

"If trade-offs are made for having flexible benefits, like working a compressed work week or adjusting hours throughout the day to cater to personal commitments, something needs to balance that compromise if businesses want workers back in the office more often," Gorton said.

Strong resistance to return to work

The findings reflect the move carried out by major employers across the world when it comes to hybrid work arrangements.

Employers, such as Amazon and Meta, have introduced flexible work arrangements but made it mandatory to report to the office for several days a week.

This comes amid strong resistance from employees to return to the office, as some say they don't think it's worth the commute.

"Providing reasons that are framed with purposeful attendance is one way to make commuting into the office worthwhile," Gorton said.

"For example, some companies are offering training and development opportunities to upskill and reskill, giving the office environment a real sense of purpose while also satisfying staff desires to keep pace with change."