Workforce Watch 1 – Australian workforce increasingly choosing freedom to money

Part of the reason why recruitment and retention is an excruciatingly challenging task in most organisations, is because the mores and needs of the workforce is ever changing.

A new study by Citrix Online (if you can ignore the fact Citrix sell solutions which allows people to work from home) found 16% of Australians are willing to sacrifice 5% of their salary in exchange for the flexibility of working from home or a remote location. A further 24% are on sitting on the fence and willing to consider a similar move (refer graph).  What employees want from employers and their workplaces continually changes. Abetted by rapid advances in technology and changing social mores, we face a future where more disruptions to the workplace status quo are likely to occur.

As players in the people business, we ought to pay closer attention to the pulse of the workforce and try and bridge the disconnect between the objectives of employers and changing needs of employees. The report is a worthy read.

Further reading: Aussies want to work from home & Telework Australia