Australian CEOs keen to pull the plug on working from home

Australia’s bosses are calling an end to the flexible workplace, with a KPMG chief executive survey showing that 82 per cent of respondents expect white-collar workers to be back in the office five days a week in three years.

This was up from just 66 per cent in last year’s survey, but the same proportion of chief executive respondents – 78 per cent – said they would reward office-based employees with pay rises and promotions.

More Australian chief executives are predicting that their workforce will be office-based in coming years. Credit: Getty

This month, Tabcorp chief Gillon McLachlan joined the tide of bosses ordering staff back into the office with a directive to his 1000 employees that the default position is that they come in.

“This is a really important step-change – we are resetting Tabcorp,” he said in an email to staff.

“Having us together as a team, focused and driving towards our goals, will deliver outcomes and success. Being connected as a team also drives a winning culture and supports us to collaborate and achieve our best.”

But there is one interesting naysayer. KPMG Australia boss Andrew Yates is not among those predicting an end to the flexible workplace – and certainly not for his workers.

KPMG Australia boss Andrew Yates says the days of a fully back-in-the-office workforce are over. Credit: Oscar Colman

He says the survey’s high outcome in favour of office work may just reflect the particular subset of chief executives surveyed, or could represent a rebalancing from the last two to three years of a more permissive work-from-home culture.

“I think it does depend on the business,” Yates said. “We’ve seen a number of CEOs come out more recently and mandate a return to the office, and that probably suits their business.”

But it does not apply to workplaces like his company. “At KPMG, we feel the way forward will continue to be flexible working arrangements,” Yates said.

And he doesn’t expect the consulting firm will be an outlier. “I don’t think we’re going to see a fully back-in-the-office workforce. I think that moment has gone.”

The chief executive survey also revealed that generative AI is the top investment priority for many businesses, with many expecting it to take three to five years to get a payback on any money spent in that area.

The surveyed bosses were upbeat on the outlook for the Australian economy, with 88 per cent saying they were confident about the future. This includes 78 per cent of respondents expressing confidence about their own industry sector.

“It is encouraging to see that business leaders in Australia are still generally upbeat,” Yates said.

“It seems that most are looking beyond what may be a sluggish next few months to a brighter two or three years after that. For example, while the unemployment rate is tipped to rise over the next six months, our respondents are confident that staff levels in their companies will grow over the following two years or so.”

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.