A growing number of employees want working from home to outstay lockdown orders after the pandemic forced people to shift to working from home. 

In response to this demand, many Australian employers plan to implement 'hybrid' working arrangements according to a new report by leading global technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG).

Employers want activities such as negotiations, staff training, coaching, brain storming, and collaboration to be in-person, in order to allow employees to do their computer-based work from home.

Lisa Borden, partner and head of ISG Australia-New Zealand, said the employee experience will play a major role in the future of the Australian workforce.

"Employers will seek to attract and retain talent by offering mass personalisation and the freedom to work anywhere, at any time, with seamless security," Ms Borden said.

The report says that many Australians are already leaving their current jobs for the flexibility of hybrid working arrangements, which backs previous findings; a LinkedIn survey of 1,000 adults in September revealed 43% of respondents wanted a hybrid mix.

Additionally, The Productivity Commission previously predicted in its research paper on how the pandemic forced businesses to adapt to working from home that many firms are 'likely' to introduce a hybrid approach.

This also comes as the unemployment rate increased to 5.2% in October.

Digital workplace transformation will be 'essential'

The pandemic forced many workplaces to shift and adapt to working from home, but this posed 'unique' challenges of employee engagement in Australia due to being highly diverse and multicultural, well-educated, and dispersed over wide areas according to the report.

To negate these challenges, digital workplace transformation services will become 'essential' for the Australian job market.

When in-person collaboration was no longer possible, avenues such as video conferences became the alternative, which cultivated even more inclusive teams according to ISG's findings.

ISG suggests that businesses and governments should carry out strategic workforce assessments to help fields, such as computer-based office work, as they continue to transform.

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