Job hunters in years gone by may have used search terms like “baker”, “accountant”, or “dentist” while chasing a new position online.
Now, the top keyword on employment portal SEEK is “work from home”, highlighting how essential remote work allowances have become for Australia’s workforce.
In a new batch of employment trends data, SEEK ANZ managing director Kendra Banks and senior economist Matt Cowgill outlined the forces at play in today’s low unemployment environment.
Among them is the lingering preference for remote work, even after the elimination of government mandates which made out-of-office working practices a necessity for many over the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to SEEK, “work from home” was the top search term used on its platform in the June 2022 quarter, superseding even specific job titles or locations.
Additional data suggests that among workers who already have a job, 61% would resign if remote work allowances were revoked.
With unemployment at just 3.5%, the data suggests remote working capabilities remain essential for many employers looking to attract talent in mid-2022.
Among professions, remote work practices were particularly favoured by IT and software professionals, women and millennials.
The appetite among those working groups could reflect three benefits work from home systems may have over centralised working practices: the ability to work asynchronously, the work-life balance remote work can afford caregivers, and a desire for flexibility, respectively.
If employers want to fill their positions, it would help to make their remote working practices clear up-front, Banks said.
