Hybrid work becomes new battleground in war for talent

A swathe of Australians are expected to hand in their notices over the next two months when they start to collect their bonuses in the latest wave of the ‘Great Resignation’, as employers struggle to convince workers to come back into the office.

Experts say employers hoping for a return to the status quo are making a mistake, as workers now crave novelty, a sense of adventure and enjoyment after two years in ‘survival mode’.

Workers clean the entrance to an office building in Parramatta as people start returning to work in offices.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Recruitment company Reo Group chief executive Stella Petrou-Concha expected resignations to peak in March.

“What I’ve heard based on the interviews I’m doing is that people are waiting for their bonuses, and then they’re going to resign,” she said.

“Enticing employers through remuneration alone is a brittle policy that won’t withstand poaching from the highest offer.”

Recruitment agency Robert Half director Nicole Gorton

Companies that have their financial year ending in December generally pay bonuses out in March, she said.

Ms Petrou-Concha said perks such as salary bumps and the option to work remotely have now become outdated and are no longer drawcards.

Recruitment agency Robert Half director Nicole Gorton also confirmed that resignation rates historically tend to tick up after bonuses are paid out.

“Companies that do see a marked spike in turnover after bonuses are paid out should take this as a warning sign that they need to re-evaluate or prioritise their retention strategies to avoid an exodus of tenured company knowledge,” she said.

“Enticing employers through remuneration alone is a brittle policy that won’t withstand poaching from the highest offer.”

Chelsea, 33, (not her real name) started in her role as a category analyst at a major Australian retailer seven months ago. Her company lets her do her job primarily from home, but on the rare off-chance she needs to be in the office, she needs to shuffle around her entire day.

Peak-hour commuters at Southern Cross Station on Monday morning. Credit: Justin McManus

She has to be out the door before 7am or become stuck in peak-hour traffic in a commute that has blown out to more than 1½ hours.

“My life now looks different to what it did two years ago, so I can’t just, at the drop of a hat, turn up to an office,” she said. “I’d have to make arrangements for my family.”

When she was job-hunting a year ago, flexibility was at the top of her list of priorities. Being able to work from home was a key consideration in accepting the job offer.

Still relatively fresh in her role, Chelsea is not looking to move on any time soon - but she knows she has the upper hand in the current employment market.

“I’ve been hit by so many recruiters,” she said. “If [employers are] inflexible, don’t meet the needs of the worker now, if they don’t appreciate and learn from what’s happened in the last few years – people will leave.

“It’s a job-seeker’s market at the moment.”

Swinburne University professor and Centre for the New Workforce director Dr Sean Gallagher said workers are now expecting a hybrid arrangement - with more time at home.

“People have become more invested in their lifestyles at home over the last two years, and they’ve gotten pretty good at working from home … They don’t want to give it up too quickly.”

Dr Gallagher said workers now have a different expectation as to what should be done in the office.

“Workers don’t want to come back to the office to sit and do Zoom calls, or process email,” he said.

“The office needs to focus much more on meaningful human interaction … everything from ideation to complex problem-solving, to conflict resolution.”

If anything, the role of the office will become even more important than before, particularly in the war for talent where employees are increasingly shunning ‘transactional’ incentives.

According to the head of workspace analytics tool Worksona, Jessica Hall, the next frontier of the flexible work revolution will be around how, and when, they work.

“Almost a quarter of people want more varied hours to accommodate their other commitments,” Ms Hall said. Countries like Belgium, Iceland, and Japan are experimenting with four-day work weeks.

“We’ve uncovered some really creative and more inclusive ways to do things [through online collaboration]. It’d be a shame to forget about those now that the office is available again.”

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