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John Hopkins, an associate professor of management at Swinburne University, said employers have become “a lot more accommodating” of requests for flexible work in recent years.
But she said the tide is turning.
What is flexible work?
Examples include:
- Flexible start and finish times
- Compressed hours (working more hours over fewer days)
- Changing from full-time to part-time or casual work
- Job sharing
- Flexible rostering
- Working from home or another location
- ‘Purchasing’ extra paid leave
- Unpaid leave
- Time off in lieu
What are the benefits and challenges of flexible work?
“All of those benefits add up in terms of retaining good employees and also reducing sick days, which can be disruptive.”
Wooldridge said recent evidence from the shift towards working from home and other forms of flexible work has shown “productivity is maintained” in flexible work conditions.
Hopkins said managing different arrangements can be complex, and varied schedules within a team may add to challenges around availability.
Flexible working in Australia
About 30 per cent of employees had an agreement to work flexible hours in August last year, and 61 per cent had some say in their start or finish times. About 34 per cent of employees were able to work extra hours in order to take time off.
In August 2024, around 30 per cent of employees had an agreement to work flexible hours. Source: SBS News
When it comes to employers, 87 per cent of the Australian private sector had a formal policy or strategy on flexible working arrangements in 2023-24, according to the WGEA.
Among the options offered were unpaid leave and flexible work hours (86 per cent and 76 per cent for managers and non-managers, respectively) along with job sharing (44 per cent for managers and 51 per cent for non-managers).
Flexible options such as unpaid leave, working from home and job sharing were offered by 100 per cent, 99 per cent and 94 per cent of employers, respectively.
All private employers with 100 or more employees are required to report their data to the WGEA. Source: SBS News
Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees reported to the WGEA for the first time in 2023. Source: SBS News
Who can request a flexible working arrangement?
Such employees can request a flexible working arrangement if they are:
- pregnant
- a parent or have responsibility for the care of a child who is school-aged or younger
- a carer under the Carer Recognition Act 2010
- a person with a disability
- aged 55 or older
- experiencing family and domestic violence
- supporting an immediate family member, or someone they live with, who is experiencing family and domestic violence
Rules might also be contained in an employee’s award, agreement, employment contract or workplace policies — but these cannot “exclude or provide for less than the Act”.
How should you bring it up with your boss?
For requests that fall under the Act, employers must respond in writing within 21 days.
When can a request be refused?
“Reverse-engineer it. Look at why you want the arrangement, how it will be beneficial to you — and look at it from the organisation’s perspective. Is there a cost associated with this? … Would it impact your productivity?”
“We certainly encourage employers to be open to the conversations about the needs and wishes of their employees.”
