The rise of hybrid work is pushing Australian tech workers beyond city centres, and many are now willing to sacrifice some of their salary to maintain this flexibility, according to a new study.

New data from International Workplace Group (IWG) reveals a “dramatic” decline in the willingness of Australians to commute to work, and an increased prioritisation of lifestyle and work-life balance above pay.

The research found nearly a third of survey respondents said they would be willing to sacrifice a higher salary in exchange for flexibility when it comes to where and how they work.

Nearly two-thirds of surveyed hybrid workers said they would not work for a company that required them to make a long daily commute.

Moving out of the cities

The data reveals an active reshaping of how and where Australians work, with many abandoning major capital cities in favour of small regional hubs that boast good connections to cities and options for co-working spaces.

“Technology and the embrace of AI is rapidly reshaping how we work and where we live, turning commuter towns, or so-called ‘dormitory towns’, into vibrant hubs for working and living,” IWG founder and CEO Mark Dixon said.

“The idea that every morning, office workers wake up, jump into polluting cars or overcrowded trains, and travel many miles to their place of work will very soon be a crazy thing people only did in the past.”

While hybrid work has been found to be hugely beneficial for workers and lead to increased productivity and efficiency, it has also led to difficulties in supporting a workforce that now may be based well outside the city, let alone a physical office.

Of Australians who are currently working flexibly, more than 80 per cent said they now had a better work-life balance, and 77 per cent reported feeling less stressed.

More than half of respondents said their general health and wellbeing had improved since they started working a hybrid model.

“Hybrid work improves our lives,” Dixon said.

“And it makes us significantly better off, too.”

Hybrid work is also pushing younger people, in particular, away from major city centres, with three quarters of surveyed Millennials and more than 70 per cent of Gen Zers saying they were willing to live further away from CBDs if regional locations had co-working spaces or good transport options.

The best places to go hybrid

IWG also released its inaugural Commuter Town Index, which measures locations by factors such as transport connectivity to major CBDs, commute time, housing affordability, local amenities, lifestyle, and digital infrastructure.

Wollongong on New South Wales’s southern coast took out top spot, thanks to its transport connectivity, lifestyle amenities, housing affordability, and wealth of access to flexible workspaces.

Geelong in Victoria, Mandurah in Western Australia, the Gold Coast in Queensland, and Port Adelaide in South Australia rounded out the top five.

Hybrid work has become increasingly valued by Australian workers following the COVID-19 pandemic and a general shift in the prioritisation of work-life balance.

Separate research has found nearly 40 per cent of workers would quit if they lost their ability to work flexibly.

Australian bosses also appear to have admitted defeat in the fight to get workers back into physical offices, with a sharp drop-off in the percentage of CEOs who expected their employees to be back in the office full-time within three years.

Those allowed to work from home have been found to take fewer sick days, and to also enjoy improved productivity and engagement.

It is also potentially saving workers thousands of dollars when it comes to parking and public transport associated with daily commutes.

The Productivity Commission also last year found an increase in working from home was not to blame for a decline in Australia’s productivity.