Distractions in the office are a key trigger in Australian workers increasingly longing to work off-site or from home, a new study has found.
VMware's third annual end user computing study has revealed more than three-quarters of Australian employees now work outside of the office.
The report found 42 per cent of respondents said the key factor in the decision to work from home or off-site was they were trying to avoid the distractions of the office in a bid to become more productive.
The study was conducted in January and February this year, and surveyed 151 respondents across Australia.
As a result of this trend, an employee’s home was considered the ideal place to work (55 per cent), followed by the company office at just 37 per cent.
But many employees surveyed said they feel the company does not meet their needs in terms of allowing them to be productive both in the office and offsite.
More specifically, 43 per cent of respondents felt their company did not invest enough in new technology to help them do their work, while 57 per cent felt that their company IT policies are too strict.
In terms of company support for mobile workers, employees are looking for equipment and hardware that allows them to work anywhere (61 per cent), access to applications they need on their own devices (58 per cent) and a comprehensive and accepted flexible working policy (46 per cent).
From the IT department, employees expect equipment that works (66 per cent), fast network access (55 per cent) and quick or real-time responses to IT requests (55 per cent).
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This is to enable workers to be productive outside of office hours (53 percent), to have seamless remote access to work from anywhere (48 per cent) and flexibility to manage personal matters (41 per cent).
VMware end-user computing, senior product manager, Asanga Wanigatunga, said young people entering the workforce expected the same level of flexibility and convenience they enjoy as consumers.
“To be told they can’t use their favourite apps, or access work email on their favourite devices, may be incomprehensible to them," he said.
"Millennials are shaping our future workplaces, and if businesses want to remain competitive, they need to loosen the reins on IT and enable better work/life balance.
"The platforms and tools now exist to secure the enterprise whilst empowering workers at the same time. Companies who recognise this will be able to stay one step ahead.”
