If bosses can’t see you, they think you are not working
April 7, 2014 Leave a comment
Fiona Smith Columnist
If bosses can’t see you, they think you are not working
Published 24 March 2014 11:25, Updated 24 March 2014 13:10
Ask any visiting business identity about Australia’s reputation as a place to work and one of the first things they will mention – usually in admiring tones – is the way we have got our work-life balance sorted.
That’s the reputation, and there is no doubt we value spending time away from the office. However, when it comes to workplace flexibility (the ability to work from wherever, whenever), we are lagging the rest of the region.
Australian bosses are still resistant to letting their workers out of sight. Unfortunately, there is a lack of trust.
According to Randstad, the majority of workers want to work remotely 30 per cent of the time.
Yet around 79 per cent of them say they are unable to work remotely in their current position, compared with 59 per cent of Chinese workers, 62 per cent of Indian, 64 per cent of Malaysian and 65 per cent of workers in Hong Kong and New Zealand.
The latest World of Work Report by Randstad, shows 40 per cent of employees still rate their current employer’s efforts in creating and adopting flexible work options as average or poor.
Steve Shepherd, group director of Randstad, says flexible working improves employee engagement, boosts performance and productivity, and fosters loyalty.
“There are many ways organisations can be more flexible with their workforce, such as staggering start and finish times, and hiring employees on a part-time basis, but mostly it’s just about business leaders being supportive when staff have personal commitments or need flexibility in the way they work,” he says.
Shepherd says the research shows the business benefits of flexible working are well understood by employers, yet they cite concerns about productivity as one of the major barriers.
“Business leaders need to have guidelines and a framework in place to foster virtual teamwork and collaboration.
“This might mean using video technologies such as Skype or Google hangout to discuss, meet and collaborate, particularly when working on team projects,” he says.
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