‘Value their freedom’: Most Aussie workers expect pay rise to work from the office

Workers have come to “value their freedom” and the flexibility offered by WFH arrangements – and they don’t intend to give them up easily.

Aussie workers are being compensated with wage increases of up to 10 per cent if they return to the office full-time.

As the battle to get Australians back to the workplace intensifies, exclusive research from people2people Recruitment shows most workers expect more pay to give up their work-from-home arrangements.

Some bosses are already caving to demands, with people2people Recruitment director Bianca Luck citing instances of workers getting salary increases of between five and 10 per cent as “compensation” to return to the workplace full-time.

Yet some workers are still holding out for more – almost two in five want their pay to increase by more than 10 per cent in return for sacrificing remote work, the research finds.

WFH trumps money

Flexible work arrangements are now a top priority for workers, Luck says, with companies having “some difficulties” filling roles that require a full-time office presence.

Despite tight finances and rising interest rates, money is often not enough to lure workers back to the office. When given the option, more than half of Australians prefer to work from home with no pay rise rather than a five per cent pay rise to return to the workplace, she says.

“Since Covid, people have really adapted their lives to being flexible and they value their freedom – they have fitness routines or want to watch their children’s sporting events or have house chores they want to do (at times when they would previously have been commuting or at the office),” Luck says.

“In 2022, it was all about salary increases. But now it’s about maintaining our flexibility and remote work is trumping financial compensation.”

Money is often not enough to lure workers back to the office. Picture: iStock

Luck says while more money is being offered to those who return to the office, it’s unlikely remote workers will have their pay cut. This was controversially proposed last year by former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, who said WFH salaries should be reduced to reflect the thousands of dollars saved annually on the cost of commuting to work.

“I just don’t think (a pay cut to continue to work remotely) is going to fly. It would be impossible to fill jobs like that,” Luck says.

She says negotiations for a pay rise to return to the office are best timed to coincide with regular performance reviews but, for maximum success, advises workers to also demonstrate high levels of achievement.

“As a manager, I would want to see there’s either a job change or an increase in productivity to get that salary increase, rather than just coming into the office,” Luck says.

Not just pay

More pay is just one of several incentives considered by bosses to get people back to the workplace, with a number of “soft” options also on offer, according to a recent future of work report by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

These include team lunches and extra-curricular activities.

Robert Half director Nicole Gorton says flexible work arrangements, such as working outside traditional 9-5 hours and access to additional leave days, as well as more upskilling opportunities, are also being offered as a “trade-off” for those prepared to go into the office.

In most cases, workers need only commit to being onsite for a minimum of three days a week to benefit from the incentives, she says, with employers resigned to most employees not returning to the workplace full-time.

“Companies are accepting that we need to be able to continue to work remotely (some of the time),” Gorton says.

“But equally, they also recognise if we are not able to get in (to the office) on certain days of the week (to collaborate with others) then the business will stagnate and people’s careers will stagnate.”

Pamela Scicluna, chief operating officer at medical software company Medtasker, says she likes the balance of working two days in the office and three at home.

Best of both worlds

Pamela Scicluna, chief operating officer at medical software company Medtasker, is required to be in the office every Wednesday. She also opts to go in for an extra day each week to connect with colleagues face-to-face.

While there have been no “obvious” employee benefits introduced for those coming onsite – free lunches were already offered before the pandemic and resumed once it was safe to return to the workplace – Scicluna believes time in the office will pay dividends in the future, with faster career development leading to future pay rises.

“I do find that coming in adds a lot of value in terms of skills development and also building those deeper relationships (with co-workers),” she says. “And if you opt out of that, I think your career progression will be slower.

“I know a lot of companies are saying they are wanting to go to a more traditional five-day work week in the office, but I really appreciate the balance of the two (days at the workplace) versus three (days working from home).

“I would never say never but I can’t see that, personally, I would want to go to a full five days back at the office.”

Office compensation

• More than three in five Aussie workers expect they should be paid more to work from the office

• 36 per cent of workers say they want more than a 10 per cent pay rise to work onsite

• 17 per cent expect a pay rise of up to 10 per cent to come into the office

• Eight per cent want a pay rise of up to five per cent to work from the office

• 37.9 per cent do not expect any pay increase to return to the workplace

Source: people2people Recruitment

Originally published as ‘Value their freedom’: Most Aussie workers expect pay rise to work from the office