As Aussie workers embrace the benefits of hybrid work arrangements, some of the country’s most influential bosses have warned their days may be numbered.
The Australian Financial Review’s Chanticleer CEO poll revealed that while there had been wide acceptance about workers working from home, many chief executives remain unconvinced four years after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Outgoing ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott summed up the general feeling of his fellow leaders towards hybrid working arrangements in 2024.
‘Not everyone will be happy all of the time,’ Mr Elliott told the AFR.
The poll revealed CEOs of some of Australia’s biggest companies including NAB’s Andrew Irvine, Bendigo Bank’s Richard Fennell, Qantas’ Vanessa Hudson, and Westpac’s Anthony Miller are keen to get workers back behind their desks.
Lendlease Global CEO Tony Lombardo said he expected his senior executives to work in the office at least four days a week.
‘In the office, our people are in three to five days a week, and I encourage our leaders to be in four to five days,’ Mr Lombardo said.
‘When people choose not to work from the workplace, they miss out on building their networks and the professional development that comes from interacting with others in person.’
ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott (pictured) said not everyone could be made happy by hybrid working arrangements as some of Australia’s top bosses share their thoughts
A leading recruitment expert believes Australian companies are ending work from home as a deliberate tactic to cull staff numbers without the cost of making redundancies
The Chanticleer CEO poll revealed 21 of the 56 chief executives surveyed – including Nine Entertainment, Seven Group and BHP – said the operational ability of staff who are unable to work remotely needs to be considered.
It comes as a top recruitment expert claims Aussie bosses are ending WFH as a deliberate tactic to cull staff numbers.
Tammie Christofis Ballis has suggested that may be the real reason why NSW Premier Chris Minns issued a dramatic directive ordering the state’s public service – Australia’s biggest employer – back to the office in August.
Ms Ballis, a specialist career coach and recruiter at Realistic Careers, said major corporations have been using the tactic post-Covid to cut staff headcount without having to resort to redundancies – and the payouts that accompany them.
She warned CEOs that demand staff come back full-time that they would lose their best workers who would seek more flexible arrangements elsewhere.
‘Pushing people back into the office is not a one size fits all situation,’ she said.
‘Is government that good that they want to stay there and come back into the office five days a week? I don’t think so.’
‘Even though the wages might not be as much as the private sector, it’s the conditions people go for.’
Recruitment expert Tammie Christofis Ballis (pictured) says corporate Australia has turned to WFH mandates to cull staff numbers without making costly redundancies
A NSW government spokesman told Daily Mail Australia described the job cutting theory claims as ‘completely incorrect’.
‘The NSW Government is committed to the continued delivery of world class services for communities,’ the spokesman said.
