Employers will need to offer flexible work, transparent pay to keep staff, Ernst & Young says

Ernst & Young’s Kate Hillman says ‘hybrid work and flexibility’ are here to stay following the pandemic, which forced many workers to set up a makeshift office at home.

Hybrid work and flexibility’ is here to stay after the pandemic forced many workers to set up a makeshift office at home, according Ernst & Young’s Kate Hillman. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Employers will need to offer flexible working arrangements for staff, hire outside their local areas, and make pay ranges more transparent to offset staff shortages, according to new research by Ernst & Young.

As companies across the developed world struggle to fill positions, EY, one of the big four consulting firms, has surveyed 18,676 people from 22 countries, including 800 employees and 50 business leaders in Australia, on the future of working.

“Hybrid work and flexibility are here to stay,” said Kate Hillman, EY Oceania people, place and culture leader. “We’ve heard employees say they want flexibility, and they don’t want to go back to full time in the office.”

The new research, about to be released publicly, found 76 per cent of employees in Australia and New Zealand want a blended approach to working from home and the office. Most wanted the option of working from home at least some, if not all of the time.

At the other end of the scale, 24 per cent of people said they actually wanted to work in an office and did not want to work remotely, which was less than in the previous survey.

Another key factor in the survey was a shift in balance of power from employer to employee.

In Australia, wage growth has not kept up with inflation, causing many staff to worry about their financial well being, and this has led to many considering a change in location or to push for greater working from home opportunities, the survey found.

“Employees are feeling more in control and enabled to make more decisions and have choices they may not have had in past periods,” said Ms Hillman.

“Employees are concerned about their financial wellbeing, considering inflation is increasing, and mortgage servicing costs are going up in Australia, but they’re also concerned about their physical and mental wellbeing,” she said.

The EY report found that 37 per cent of respondents declared their intention to quit their current jobs in the next 12-month period, and 74 per cent believed staff turnover had increased over the past year.

Ms Hillman added employers needed to become more transparent about pay and other benefits, and also consider hiring outside their normal geographic areas. According to the report, Australian employers are 10 per cent less likely to be open to hiring people that don’t work locally, than the global benchmark.

“Where possible, offer flexible hybrid work, and where not possible for example front line workers, canvas your people for alternate benefits they will value equally … including condensed working weeks,” Ms Hillman said.

The EY survey included people from banking, IT, aviation, and public sector positions.

Meantime, the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday agreed to increase the minimum wage. The decision was welcomed by many, but the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it would put significant strain on businesses.

ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said the increase is “too much”, particularly with current economic pressures and times of uncertainty.