Employees working remotely with no help from the boss

New report from COS finds only one-third of Australian workers have their WFH set-up fully funded by employer.

Working from home

Only one-third of Australian workers have their costs of working from home fully funded by their employers, according to a survey by COS, an Australian owned private company offering product supply solutions for the workplace.

The report found another 30 per cent were partially covered and 36 per cent operated remotely without any help from their companies. And respondents were clear about the equipment costs, with 78 per cent asking for their laptops to be covered and 66 per cent keen for money to pay for office supplies.

The dangers of working at the kitchen table also emerged in the research: 42 per cent of home workers reported neck pain and 52 per cent said they had suffered lower back pain.

The survey questioned more than 1000 office workers and found that 62 per cent expected their employer to support their WFH set-up, even if WFH wasn’t mandated.

It found that almost half (44 per cent) were still working from home this year, with 25 per cent using hybrid arrangements. Nineteen per cent were fully remote, while 56 per cent were working full time in the office or workplace.

The state breakdown reflects to some extent the Covid-19 policies in various areas and the varying rates of return after lockdown.

In South Australia, 68 per cent of respondents have returned to work in the office five days a week and in WA 62 per cent are back; while in NSW it is 50 per cent and in Victoria 56 per cent.

There is variation in capital cities from 65 per cent in Perth who are back completely to 46 per cent in Canberra and 51 per cent in Melbourne.

The percentages working completely from home varied with age: the highest percentage (66 per cent) was for those aged 45 to 54 and the lowest was among those aged 25 to 34, where 52 per cent of workers were fully back in the office. The higher number of middle-aged employees returning full time possibly reflects the fact this age group is likelier to manage teams and feels more comfortable doing so from head office.

The survey found that 62 per cent of workers had a dedicated workspace in their home that was of a similar standard to their office set-up.

But there were some differences, depending on age, with 70 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 enjoying this level of home office but only 52 per cent of those aged from 45 to 54, suggesting that younger, tech-savvy employees are better placed to replicate their workspaces in their homes.