Workers demanding a range of incentives to return to the office and end work-from-home arrangements have been criticized for their entitlement attitude.
New research from Ranstad found that 24 percent of workers said only a significant pay rise would attract them back to a full-time office job.
But 79 percent (nearly four in five) of workers would happily return to the office voluntarily if they were offered a number of benefits.
Of those surveyed, 38 percent of white-collar workers wanted free transportation to work and/or free parking, neither of which they had to pay for while working from home.
The same number said they wanted free lunches.
About 20 percent wanted Free gym membership or in-office yoga, Pilates or massage to entice you back to the city.
Entrepreneur and social commentator Prue MacSween said people who make such “unreasonable” demands are “poison” for their workplaces.
“Clearly these people don’t want to be successful candidates for jobs because you know those are outrageous demands and that indicates a certain mentality,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘As a businessman, I wouldn’t want to hire any of them. I wouldn’t even feed one of them.
New research from Ranstad found that 24 percent of workers said only a significant pay rise would attract them to a full-time office role (file image)
Entrepreneur and social commentator Prue MacSween (pictured) said employees who make such “unreasonable” demands are “poison” for her workplace.
Ms MacSween said employees who make such costly demands “don’t understand what the taxes of running a business are”.
‘TThese are people you don’t want in your business because they are poisonous.’
Angela Anasis, CEO of Randstad Australia, was more sympathetic to workers.
‘After four years of remote and hybrid work, official workers feel they have earned the right to work from home and many have made life decisions, such as buying a pet or moving further from the office, based on the assumption that this flexibility was here. stay,” he said.
“It is not surprising, therefore, that they are concerned that this right will be taken away without adequate justification.”
A third of the 965 Australian white-collar workers surveyed said they would need additional paid time off to return to the office.
Nearly one in four, 23 per cent, said improved technology to improve productivity would make them return voluntarily, while 22 per cent said they would return if office layout and design were improved.
Up to 15 percent wanted subsidized child care, while 14 percent said they wanted on-site workshops, seminars or guest speaker sessions.
Being catered for also proved popular: 16 per cent of respondents said they wanted after-work events where they could enjoy free food and drink.
However, Ms MacSween said these were “unrealistic demands” on business owners that sometimes could not be paid for weeks.
“What they don’t understand is that the people who run businesses are often parents who have mortgaged their home,” he said.
tThey are simply not the people you want in your life, much less in your business. They’re there for themselves, not to improve the business.’
As many as 21 per cent said benefits such as free gym membership or yoga, pilates or office massages would be needed to get them back from WFH (workers in Sydney).
MacSween acknowledged that companies already use benefits to attract and retain top talent.
“But that is recognition of someone who is going to improve results and contribute a lot to the business,” he said.
‘If you’re looking to hire a high-level employee, they offer things like free cars, school tuition payments and even, in some cases, holiday pay for family.
“When you look at these people who have listed these demands, it’s clear that these are people who are really very disposable.”
Randstad estimates that offering some of the desired benefits twice a week could cost as little as $4,034 per employee per year.
The company said this is just a fraction of the average replacement cost of $21,450 per employee, which can rise to $97,500 when indirect factors such as productivity loss and knowledge depletion are taken into account.
