In October 2025, Westpac employee Karlene Chandler won a landmark case against the bank, after it denied her request to work remotely to be closer to her children’s school. Chandler had challenged the bank’s mandate to attend the office two days a week in line with its hybrid work policy. Evidence submitted to Australia’s Fair Work Commission showed she had performed at a high level while working for the bank remotely in previous years. The commission concluded that the bank’s refusal was unsupported by “reasonable business grounds”.

Ways of working were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, with office workers across the globe forced to work remotely to promote public safety. While hybrid work has become a popular model with workers in many countries, some organisations are tightening the rules on office attendance. Globally, companies such as Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and X (formerly Twitter) have mandated a full-time, five days a week in the office, with  few exceptions. In Australia, Origin Energy, Suncorp, ANZ and Insignia Financial have linked office attendance rules to annual performance reviews and bonuses.

With many employees prioritising flexibility, the tussle over work models is likely to continue. What are we willing to sacrifice for hybrid or fully remote work and what is the business case for different ways of working?

Where are you working?

Data from Roy Morgan shows 51% of full-time workers in Australia work from home at least some of the time. In New Zealand, the figure is closer to 20%.

“New Zealand employers got people back to the office a lot earlier than places like Australia,” says Megan Alexander CA, managing director of Robert Half New Zealand. “We haven’t had to turn the ship around as much. About 70% of the roles that I recruit for today are full-time, in-office and the rest are hybrid, with three or four days in-office.”

Susie Vokins, founder of specialist audit and accounting recruitment firm SVA, says hybrid and remote work is more commonly requested by employees in cities like Auckland, which experienced the country’s longest lockdown period.

“In Auckland, I would estimate that over 90% of the job seekers that SVA engages with tend to ask about an employer’s stance on remote or hybrid working, whereas in the regions there are times when we do not get asked about this at all,” she says.

“By contrast, in our experience a greater number of Auckland companies and firms insist that workers are 100% office-based, compared with the rest of the country.”

While hybrid work remains popular in Australia, Michael Edelstein, director of specialist accounting recruitment firm Recruitment Expert, is seeing pushback from some employers.

“The vast majority of firms now expect you to earn the privilege of hybrid, meaning you need to at least pass probation first,” he says. “So, it’s not a given anymore.”

Meanwhile, the Victorian Government recently proposed laws that would give employees the right to work from home for at least two days a week, if their job can reasonably be done remotely. The legislation will be introduced to parliament this year.

“It will be interesting to see if that legislation will pass in Victoria, because leaders have realised from COVID that junior staff need to be in the office to learn not only the technical aspects but also to get ‘socialised’ into the office environment,” says Edelstein. “It’s a different world to university life and it takes time to adapt to the social nuances of office politics, team dynamics, getting things done – that takes years to learn.”

Best of both worlds?

The FY25/26 Salary Guide from Hays shows 58% of employees in Australia and New Zealand rank flexible working as their most valued benefit. This is followed by additional annual leave (45%) and health benefits or private medical cover (18%).

Stuart Martin, business director – national accounting and finance lead with Hays, says while fully remote accounting roles are quite rare, candidates value the flexibility of hybrid work.

“It suits their work-life balance and many also find that they are more productive when they can work from home on some days,” he says.

Edelstein says in-office roles are a deal-breaker for some accountants.

“It’s especially the case for more senior candidates that value flexibility and autonomy,” he says.

This preference can come at a cost for companies with more rigid in-office work policies, with studies equating a hybrid model with better performance, productivity and retention.

For example, a Stanford 2024 study from US economist Nicholas Bloom reveals that employees who work from home two days a week are just as productive, just as likely to get promoted and far less prone to quit than their fully office-based peers. Data from Hubstaff also shows the cost of employee turnover can stretch to approximately 50% of an employee’s salary and replacing staff can be tough in a tight recruitment market.

“More and more companies expect more office time, with many now not offering work-from-home at all, especially in the first six months,” says Edelstein. “So, for smaller businesses, offering hybrid arrangements is potentially not only a great attraction tool but an effective retention strategy.”

Remote or hybrid work may also provide greater choice for both employers and employees, with greater access to the labour market for those who previously faced barriers. Recent research by academics in the US found that the rise of remote work since the pandemic has coincided with a significant increase in employment among people living with physical disability.

Cost of remote work

While popular with many employees, remote work can have its drawbacks. A 2023 study by McKinsey estimates that remote work could wipe US$800 billion from the value of office buildings in major cities by 2030. Plus, many leaders believe that maintaining a strong culture requires all workers to be in the same workplace.

“Things like culture, collaboration, being connected to what’s happening in the business and better on-boarding – these are the key themes why businesses have wanted to get people back together again,” says Alexander.

A willingness to work in-office can also lead to more job opportunities. Over the past 12 months, Vokins has observed a greater preference towards employees who are willing to be in the office, instead of working remotely or on a hybrid basis, although she notes that every situation is unique.

“It really depends on the core focus of the company and industry you work in,” she says. “Audit is a great example. In the main, firms prefer employees to be on-site at clients, so full-time remote work is often not feasible and it may work against the employee in a competitive hiring setting.”

The business advisory industry can be similar, adds Vokins, with firms often wanting employees to be client-facing.

“We have also found that some commercial accounting positions, such as finance business partner roles, require people to be predominantly in the office,” she says. “A consistent theme is that roles with a heavy client relationship component require an office presence.”

Edelstein adds that remote work can potentially stifle promotion opportunities at risk.

“You tend to promote those that you see and hear in the room, so if you’re working remotely and can’t see clients in person, or if you’re not available to train staff in person, or just not seen in the office compared to someone else who works from the office and performs well, you can guess who is more likely to be promoted, earn higher salaries and bigger bonuses,” he says.

“When you’re in the office, you’ll pick up new things, spot more opportunities and are therefore more likely to offer greater value to the company and management.”

What do workers want?

What are employees willing to sacrifice for a hybrid or remote position?

Findings of a recent research paper published by academics in the US reveal on average tech workers are willing to give up close to 25% of their total income for a partially or fully remote role.

Research from the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) shows that since 2020, workers who have hybrid or fully remote working arrangements earn nearly 6% less than similar employees who cannot or do not work from home.

A 2023 study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization also shows Australian workers who have some capacity to work from home would take a pay cut of about A$3000 to A$6000 – or 4–8% of their salary – to work remotely some of the time.

“The workforce is putting a premium on flexibility,” says Martin. “It’s become non-negotiable when people are searching for work.”

Consequently, Alexander advises employers to build flexibility into any work model they choose.

“If you want workers in the office full time, you still need to provide flexibility,” she says. “It’s a fact that people need to juggle their job and elements of their personal life, so they value a role that’s flexible. In the end, it’s better for everyone.”

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Spotlight on flexible working

Hybrid work remains a popular choice for accountants, with the 2025 CA ANZ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey showing 87% of respondents working flexibly either on a regular or ad hoc basis. The most common arrangements are working from home (76%) and flexible start/finish times (69%). Less common, but still notable, are part-time work (19%) and compressed work weeks (16%). Almost 80% of respondents use flexible working arrangements to accommodate personal circumstances such as illness, care responsibilities, travel, study and religious observance.

However, the results also reveal a noticeable gap between the number of respondents whose organisation offers flexible working (91%), and those whose manager supports and role-models flexible working (73%) or those who believe it won’t restrict career progression (63%).

“While manager support is relatively strong and most respondents use flexible arrangements, fewer respondents are confident that flexibility won’t impact career progression,” says Heidi Rosser, manager, inclusive culture, CA ANZ. “This suggests that normalising flexibility at all levels, including leadership, remains an important next step.”

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Take aways

To read the 2025 CA ANZ Members Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey Report in full click here.

The CA Library recommends the audiobook Running Remote: Master the Lessons From the World’s Most Successful Remote-Work Pioneers by Martin Liam.