Working from home is saving the average Australian more than $5,000 per year and boosting productivity and workforce participation, according to a new report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

The report focuses on the benefits to individuals and households when workers are given the ability to work from home for some or all of the days of the week, on the back of research into the associated productivity gains.

It found that those who work from home at least some days per week are saving thousands of dollars per year in commuting costs and are able to work more hours each week.

CEDA’s research also found that workplaces offering flexible arrangements such as working from home or hybrid work has helped those sometimes restricted from getting a job, such as mothers of young children, to find employment.

Working from home has been a key topic throughout the federal election campaign, and was thrown into the spotlight after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton backflipped on a pledge to require public servants to attend the office every day.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fully backed working from home and also pointed to the financial gains for workers associated with reduced commuting times.

The financial impact of WFH

For the report, CEDA analysed the most recent ‘Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia’ survey in order to estimate the impact of working from home on weekly commutes.

It found that someone working full-time from home is saving an average of 4.25 hours in commuting times per week, while those working hybridly from an office half the time are saving 2.12 hours.

The report found that Australians working from home spend an average of 3.4 hours less time commuting each week than if they worked the same amount of time from the office.

Taking into account public transport and fuel costs, this means they are saving $110 per week or $5,308 per year for a 48-week working year, based on the average hourly wage of Australians.

While previous studies have found that someone working from home earns $4,400 less than someone who works in the office every day, those working from home still come out on top.

“What they might be losing in wages, they are gaining in reduced commute time,” CEDA economist James Brooks said.

“This confirms what many Australians have experienced since the pandemic – workers are saving time and money on their commute, and in many cases are also able to work more hours or even get a job, where they couldn’t do so before.”

Similar costings released by Labor during the election campaign claimed that working from home can save the average Australian worker about $3,056 in transport costs, and more for those living in major cities.

Increased workforce participation

The report also examines the impact of working from home on workforce participation, and particularly how it is assisting those facing barriers to in-office work, such as parents of young children, primary carers and those with health issues, to find employment.

To do this, the CEDA report models how workforce participation would have changed from 2019 to 2023 if the COVID pandemic had not happened, based on the pre-pandemic trend.

It found that participation is 4.4 per cent higher than it would have been if not for the pandemic and the changes in working structures that it brought with it.

This equates to more than 615,000 more workers across the economy.

Before the pandemic, a mother of a child under four years old was 21.6 per cent less likely to have a job compared to the average worker.

By 2023, this figure was down to 17.15 per cent.

According to previous CEDA analysis, more than a third of Australians are still working from home