How Working from Home Will Change Australia

During the pandemic, almost half of the Australian working population spent at least some time working from home. That’s a massive shift in how Australians work, but it has also sparked a shift in the way corporations and workers see working from home.

Workers reported increased work/life balance, reduced commuting times, and improved flexibility. Businesses have also reduced their costs and increased efficiency, which has caused many to seriously consider making working from home at least part time a standard part of their work week.

The ability to work remotely directly affects the property market as well. Buyers can consider properties over a much wider area, and prioritise space and lifestyle options over the need to be within close commuting distance to their place of work.

Working from home has been a big change for many Australians, and with so many benefits for employers and employees alike, it’s likely that change is here to stay.

Here’s what that might mean for the residential property market.

New Insight

The silver-lining in the Coronavirus pandemic is that it has forced Australians to confront some things about our work/life balance that we otherwise would have been likely to let continue indefinitely. The ability to work from home came as a pleasant surprise from an unpleasant situation to most who would have otherwise not had the opportunity to trial it.

While the number of people working from home at least part of the time has been naturally increasing along with the technology that enables them to do so, the events of 2020 have forced otherwise reluctant businesses to confront the idea that their workers can operate remotely, and in fact it can be a better and more cost-effective option.

Until now, most people have based their property searches on where their job is located. An increased reliance on working from home now means that buyers can widen that search – houses that were too far from work are now an option, and the CBD no longer needs to be the central point of a housing search.

The Financial Benefits

It’s not just the workers who benefit. As there is an increased reliance on a workforce that is in the office on a less regular basis, workplaces are able to down-size and become more efficient. There is less dependence on finding property in the expensive CBDs, and workplaces can expand their talent pools out of their strictly defined geographic area.

Even businesses at the highest level are experiencing the demand for remote working facilities. Major brands like Twitter have made the decision to work 100% remotely. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said around 75% of his workers had expressed an interest in the ability to change cities that working from home would offer them – which is no surprise with the sky-high cost of living in Silicon Valley.

While most people will still need to come into the office at times, less commuting means that workers are happy to travel further in order to improve their lifestyle. People can move further away and into bigger houses, with increased flexibility and a better work/life balance. It’s win-win for most workers, their families, and their companies.

The New Wish List

As working from home becomes a more accepted option for employers and workers, the wish list for buyers is also changing to keep up. Some items that used to be on the “nice to have” list have now become a lot more essential. Some of the features that are increasingly in-demand are:

Home office. While all families could use some space to set up a computer for work and homework, as employees move to working remotely that space becomes increasingly more important. From a converted bedroom to a space that’s separate from the house, different occupations require more specialised work zones to accommodate those hours away from the office.

More space. With increased time spent at home, it’s even more important that home offers room to breathe. As workers move away from the reliance on living closer to the CBDs, they have the option for bigger houses in better settings, which means houses with more space are more desirable than ever.

Beautiful location. You no longer have to wait until retirement for your sea change. Buyers who commute less are happy to live further away, and that means the location has to be worth travelling to. Coastal and rural escapes are even more in demand with more workers able to look further away from urban centres.

Good internet connection. Businesses are relying heavily on the internet and cloud-based services to support workers operating remotely – so workers without a good internet connection are going to find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. A fast, reliable internet connection has gone from being a good feature to an absolutely essential requirement for remote workers.

Transport links. While workers will be increasingly based at home, that doesn’t completely remove the need for human interaction. Most workers will find themselves in the office on a regular basis, meaning that good transport links are still important. Especially as remote working is likely to mean that workers choose a house that is further away from the office, workers will need to be confident the days they do go into work their transport isn’t a problem.

Changing Times

As times change, workers and workplaces will scramble to keep up. Offering remote working options makes a company even more desirable to attract the top workers and keep current employees happy, while workers who can operate from home take up less space and cost their company less.

As working from home becomes a more popular option, the dependence on looking for property that is close to central business districts begins to weaken. That means that buyers can look further afield, and choose houses that suit their lifestyle instead of having distance to work as a major drawcard for a property.

It means more flexibility, less dependence on major urban centres, and happier workers and companies. With the increasing ability for technology to make working from home even easier, antiquated attitudes were the last thing holding many companies back from supporting remote working arrangements.

As the temporary changes forced by the pandemic become more permanent, there is every likelihood that we’ll see major changes in the way Australians choose a company, in how they work, and especially in the way they choose real estate.