Australia one of the most flexible countries to work in – global study

A new global study has found Australia to be one of the world’s most flexible country to work in with nine out of every ten businesses surveyed offering flexible benefits, significantly higher than the global average of 62%. The Polycom Anywhere Working study challenges the notion of going to work as we know it, with advances in technology such as video calling becoming increasingly prevalent. Commenting on the growth in flexible working within Australia, industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan’s Head of Research, Audrey William said, “Across the region, governments and businesses are creating disruptive change to remain competitive in the digital era. Transformational technologies like mobility, cloud and video collaboration are changing the way we work and live, impacting everything from workspace design to workflow and office culture. The growth in flexible working and geographically distributed workforces mean that businesses will need to find ways to empower employees with vastly different experiences and relationships with technology, ensuring they can collaborate effectively to get the job done.” Surveying 25,000 of today’s global workforce, the study found the findings show that despite generational differences, three major flexible working trends that were commonly shared:
  • Being able to work from anywhere is believed to boost performance with a vast majority of respondents (98%), believing that flexible, work-anywhere arrangements have a positive impact on productivity.
  • Almost two-thirds (62%) of the global working population are currently taking advantage of flexible working practices.
  • 91% of respondents believe video collaboration helps improve workplace relationships and teamwork, with over two-thirds of Australians surveyed having a work BFF in a different office.
These results suggest that flexible workplace success is about providing the right environment that allows individuals and teams to work together productively to deliver great results, but these need to be tailored to your business goals, your team and technological proficiency. Tony Simonsen, Managing Director, Polycom Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) explains, “With the build of high-speed broadband networks, technology can now give people the freedom to work the way they want, regardless of where they are. In today’s technology-enabled workplace, flexible working is becoming business-normal; employees expect it and employers need to provide flexible working policies to attract and retain their best talent.” “Regardless of whether you are working in Australia or China, a millennial or baby boomer, the findings show that people have the same expectations when it comes to flexible working– they want location liberation, the ability to work and collaborate in a very human way that gets the job done.” Here at Portable Partitions, we are strong believers in a flexible working environment that change and flex to create optimum spaces for both productivity and collaboration. We strive to provide the best products and advice to help you meet your flexible office goals.