Aequus Partners Workplace Flexibility Survey

Did a new “flexibility” normal get kick-started in the GFC?

If so, what could it mean for the workforce of the future as we move into recovery?

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests that Australia experienced an overall drop in full-time hours and an increase in part-time hours in 2009, and media reports heralded the beginning of a four-day week.  

The question is: were the 2009 employment statistics a short-term workplace adjustment, or did something change fundamentally?  Did the GFC cause employees to question the rat-wheel we had been running on at an ever increasing pace?  Did the GFC give employers an experience of the business benefits of flexibility and confidence that they could “do” part-time work, working from home and purchased leave? 

Our preliminary research (interviews with business leaders and key decision-makers) suggests that green shoots of flexibility did grow: but it’s not a carpet of green, more like little hillocks! 

To test whether a new normal was stimulated we are running a broad SURVEY 

Please participate to help identify the workplace of the future.

Juliet Bourke (BA, LLB, LLM Hons) is a partner at Aequus Partners. Juliet participated in the 2020 Summit and has received numerous awards for her leadership and achievements.  Aequus Partners is an organisational change group which specialises in diversity and flexibility. Drawing on their knowledge of psychology, law and management, In 2008 Aequus Partners  launched flex-e, a range of e-learning tools to assist managers with implementing flexible work practices.