Nearly half of workers are prepared to quit their jobs if their employers fail to provide their desired level of flexibility around work hours and location according to a new report released this week by EY – formerly known as Ernst & Young.
The survey shows that 47% of Australia and New Zealand workers are likely to quit their current role if they are not offered the flexibility they want.
The same survey shows that if given a choice between flexibility in work location and work time, 52% of Australia and New Zealand employees prefer flexibility in when they work, compared to 40% who would like flexibility in where they work.
Matt Lovegrove, Partner, People Advisory Services says the survey shows that employees are not afraid to take a leaf from Paul Kelly’s song book and tell their bosses to ‘watch me walking out the door’.
“The pandemic has shown that flexible working arrangements are not only possible, but desirable for employees, and can be advantageous for employers. With growing optimism about the economy and job market, and the lack of ‘business as usual’ access to skilled migration pools, employees are increasingly willing to vote with their feet to find a set of arrangements that work best for them,” says Mr Lovegrove.
“These circumstances present both an opportunity and threat for companies as the battle for talent ramps up even further. For industries and individual companies there is an opportunity to evolve their employee brands, promoting the flexibility they offer, to take advantage of increased labour flexibility and attract skills they may not have been as easily able to pre-pandemic.
“On the flip side, there are clear risks that will need to be addressed. Other economies and foreign organisations are offering ‘work from anywhere’ arrangements to attract Australian and New Zealand workers, there are corporate and individual income tax considerations, and the need for revisiting health and safety ‘duty of care’ responsibilities and approaches.
The survey also shows that while Australia and New Zealand employees want ongoing access to flexible work arrangements, 70% believe fully remote work will impact career opportunities.
“Measuring productivity and accessing career opportunities in the new normal workplace is a recurring theme throughout the survey. I feel ‘productivity’ is now a euphemism for a foundational lack of trust between employees and employers. More work needs to be done to establish greater trust between employee and employer to ensure the transition is a success, for all parties,” adds Mr Lovegrove.
“New tools and greater trust, as well as new ways to measure productivity, will be the key to success in the workplace in the post-Covid-19 world. Our leaders and managers need to evolve and mature their approaches to leading and managing, focusing more on outputs than hours, and while employees are demanding flexibility, there is also the need to balance this with the viability and feasibility of remote working for employers to be able to meet the demands of their clients and their markets.”
The report also shows that 55% of Australian and New Zealand based workers agree the Covid-19 vaccination should be made mandatory for all workers in order to return safely to work, while only 23 per cent disagree.
“With guidance from health authorities and local regulations, employers and employees will need to work through this pressing, and often emotive, question in a respectful way,” says Mr Lovegrove.
