New report finds a third of all Aussies have teleworked
New report finds a third of all Aussies have teleworked
Sep 23, 2005: A new report on working remotely from the office - known as teleworking – has found that it is becoming a widespread phenomenon, with around a third of Australians having teleworked at some point.
And with fuel prices in Australia reaching an all-time high, the upward momentum may be set to continue, as employees opt to work from home for at least part of the week in order to save money.
ICT Minister Helen Coonan released the 2005 Insights report into teleworking, which was undertaken by Telstra-owned search engine Sensis.
Earlier this year, the Australian Government established the Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC) to examine what is driving telework in Australia, and what impediments there might be.
Coonan said the committee had been consulting with stakeholders throughout Australia and is due to report in February next year, adding that the report was a useful start.
“As a first step, the Sensis report makes some interesting findings. The survey maps how many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Australia utilise teleworking and found that 30 percent of Australians have teleworked and more than a third of SMEs use teleworking.
"Teleworking has had an overwhelmingly positive impact with 73 percent of businesses indicating it had clear benefits and allowed greater work-and-life balance for their employees.”
For the purpose of the survey, telework was defined as work that an individual does away from their normal place of business, during their working hours, using some form of information and communications technology.
“Sensis reported positive impacts such as flexibility and convenience, while small and medium business owners liked being able to access information from anywhere and saving time,” said Coonan.
Coonan added that the report shows a direct correlation between teleworking and increased profitability, as well as the importance of broadband connectivity in teleworking.
“SMEs who use teleworking record consistently higher sales and profits, and greater confidence, than their non-teleworking counterparts. The report also shows that 52 percent of businesses with broadband access used teleworking, compared to 23 percent of those without broadband."
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