Australians are ditching the 9 to 5 in record numbers for freedom and flexibility to choose when and where they work. It’s a new era for highly skilled workers who can now use digital technology to work remotely and on their terms.
The world’s largest job site Indeed has released data showing the number of Australians searching for flexible jobs online has more than doubled in the past two years.
Indeed’s statistics show interest in flexible work has grown 42% overall across the world’s 12 largest economies in that time, but Australia tops the list returning 85% more searches for terms like ‘remote’, ‘work from home’ and ‘telecommute’ than the nearest rival – the United States.
The growing trend toward flexible and remote work is beneficial for employers too, providing access to a borderless workforce and the best match for each job, not limited to applicants from a local geographical area.
The Indeed Hiring Lab’s research has also revealed Australia is a jobseeker’s market, with 11% of advertised jobs still vacant after two months.
This changing marketplace is seeing more employers flex to offer greater incentives to lure the best and brightest talent, including work-from-home opportunities and flexible leave.
For a while now, it’s been common for organisations to offer staff incentives like gym memberships, lunchroom entertainment or a day off for their birthday, but office pool tables and PlayStations are fast becoming nothing more than gimmicks to autonomous remote workers who choose their own hours, outfits and office views – café one day, beach the next.
Here at Remote Work Hub we believe this is just the beginning of the future of work – we hope for many more productive, efficient and cost-effective work arrangements, giving professionals greater flexibility and work-life balance, and employers a stronger, more highly skilled and better-suited workforce than ever before.
