Workers happier at home

ALMOST half of Australians who have been working from home do not want to return to the workplace – but it’s their annoying colleagues and daily commute putting them off more than any potentiallydeadly virus.

Exclusive figures from Dynata revealed 43 per cent of 1025 surveyed workers would rather continue from home, with 72 per cent saying they did not want to commute again and 53 per cent enjoying their space from managers and colleagues too much.

Corporate Dojo founder and people leadership expert Karen Gately said it was not just introverts finding benefit in working away from other people. “It’s also the extroverts with less temptation to be distracted,” she said.

Ms Gately said workers could avoid micromanaging bosses and energy-draining colleagues, too.

“Some people are enjoying being connected via video conferencing but at the same time not having to be surrounded by certain colleagues or conflicts on a daily basis,” she said.

Research from software company Zoho found cutting out the daily commute saved workers time and money.

Chief strategy officer Vijay Sundaram said the average Australian spent about $9.50 commuting every day.

“Over the course of a year, that equates to around $2000 which is a significant amount of money to save as a global financial crisis looms,” he said.

“Long, often costly, commutes are a common gripe for many, but working from home allows people to spend their time more productively.”

Still, the Dynata figures found health and safety concerns remained a major factor for 51 per cent who wished to continue working from home even as offices reopened.

SafetyCulture chief operating officer Alistair Venn said most people were not worried about catching the coronavirus at work but rather on buses or trains during their commute.

A commissioned study of 1076 Australians at the start of June found 52 per cent of workers who took public transport felt unsafe doing so.

Mr Venn, whose company created the iAuditor app to help people return safely to work, encouraged employers to reconsider whether workers needed to be in the office every day.

“We have already informed all of our team that nobody is required to come back into the office until the end of October,” he said.

“Then moving forward all employees will be able to work from home two days a week.”

Studies suggested employers were increasingly open to the idea of staff working from home, including a survey of 1000 Australians commissioned by digital event specialist Redback Connect.

A fifth (22 per cent) of workers said their manager had already offered the option of working from home, while 56 per cent planned to ask for such an arrangement.