Work from home perks are slowly dwindling, but there are some industries where it’s becoming even more common. (Source: Getty)
The number of job ads offering work-from-home perks is on the decline, but there are some industries still holding onto the pandemic-era arrangement. The labour market is tough for job seekers across much of the country and employers in some sectors have realised they don’t have to offer the same level of flexibility to attract the best talent.
New SEEK data has revealed only 9 per cent of ads now mention WFH, which is down slightly from a 2023 peak of 10 per cent per cent. SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman told Yahoo Finance it’s not a dramatic change, but could indicate a broader downward trend could continue in the months ahead.
“I think it’s a reflection of management maturing a bit more around their approach to work from home,” he said.
“There’s a bit of a fairness argument in some organisations where some people just can’t work from home in their roles, and management’s saying to the back office, ‘Hey, you’re part of this organisation too… maybe you should also be present in the office.'”
But SEEK’s recent Money Matters report highlighted how WFH continues to be an important part of the professional landscape for workers.
Nearly one quarter of those who can work from home who were surveyed for the research said they wouldn’t return to the office full-time, even if they were offered a higher salary.
Interestingly, 76 per cent of people would expect some sort of financial compensation to step back into the office five days a week.
More broadly, 65 per cent said they would opt for a good work-life balance over a higher salary if they were forced to choose.
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Even though job ads mentioning work-from-home perks constitute less than 10 per cent, there are certain industries where this ratio is much higher.
SEEK revealed the industries or job sectors where people have a higher chance of finding a remote or semi-remote role:
Insurance and superannuation: 51.5 per cent of ads mention WFH
Consulting and strategy: 32.1 per cent
Information and communication technology: 29.5 per cent
Legal: 26.3 per cent
Human resources and recruitment: 25.2 per cent
Marketing and communications: 24.8 per cent
Accounting: 23.4 per cent
Government and defence: 21.7 per cent
Call centre and customer service: 21.7 per cent
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Only five industries recorded an increase in roles with WFH capabilities.
Insurance and superannuation are bucking the national trend and has actually seen an increase in WFH offers, with a 4.2 per cent rise since April 2023.
Legal was another area that saw a 4 per cent lift, while government and defence had a 2.6 per cent jump.
Chapman speculated to Yahoo Finance about why these industries had the highest rate of work-from-home offers. “If you think about a insurance assessor, they’re actually going to be out and about and visiting homes or assessing buildings that have been damaged and things like that,” he said.
Instead of them being forced to go into an office, he said those roles, including consultants and lawyers would need to be mobile to visit clients.
While some of the other roles, like customer service or accounting, can largely be done from home.
“Why do you need to come to a centralised location just to input data when you can be doing that on a laptop from anywhere,” he said.
There are several industries, many of which aren’t surprising, where work-from-home is virtually non-existent.
Trades and services tops that list, with only 1.6 per cent offering WFH benefits.
Tourism and hospitality came in second with 1.9 per cent, while manufacturing, transport and logistics sat at 2.6 per cent.
Other sectors where Aussies shouldn’t expect much working from home included sport and recreation (2.7 per cent), farming, animals and conservation (3.4 per cent), education and training (4.3 per cent) and mining, resources, and energy (5 per cent).
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