The work-from-home revolution started by COVID-19 lockdowns will not end once the pandemic is over, with the Productivity Commission revealing Australians have embraced their home offices and the massive savings in time by avoiding the daily commute.

Research released on Thursday by the commission shows working just one day a week at home rather than in the office saves the equivalent of seven working days in travel time and $394 in public transport costs over a year.

Before the pandemic about 8 per cent of employees had a formal work-from-home arrangement, with people working a median of one day a week from home.

But the advent of lockdowns to stop the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in a huge increase in the number of people forced to work from their residence. The commission estimates about 40 per cent of people worked from home, with many saying they were happy with the situation.

Almost a third of people would like to work three days a week at home while 20 per cent would like their entire working week to be home-bound.

The commission’s chair, Michael Brennan, said although it was unlikely such a large number of Australians would continue to work from home, there was little doubt the pandemic had awakened many people and their employers to the opportunities of working from their home office.

He said on balance it appeared there were productivity gains from home working while the financial benefits were obvious to many Australians who were no longer spending hours in a car on their daily commute.

While previous working trends had taken years to become established, it appeared the support for working from home had occurred almost overnight.

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-re-never-leaving-the-home-office-pandemic-offers-end-to-commute-20210915-p58rs8.html

Not all work can be done from home, mind you...

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