Australians Want Option to Choose Office on Australia Day

Three in four (75%) Australian workers want the option to work on Australia Day according to new research by global job site, Indeed.

Half of the working population (52%) already have the option to work January 26 and approximately 3.7 million of them (58%) will not take it as a public holiday.

The most popular reasons for working on the day are to earn more money (89%) and to have the flexibility to elect a different day off (78%). Many who are choosing to work also say they do not believe January 26 should be a day of celebration (66%).

Our desire to have greater flexibility with respect to public holidays isn't just limited to Australia Day, with seven in ten (68%) saying workers should have the option to swap any public holiday for a different day off.

While Australia Day is by far and away the least popular public holiday to observe, second place belongs to the King's Birthday—with 34% wanting the option to work on this day. This is followed by Labour Day (31%), Christmas Day (30%), Easter Monday (30%), ANZAC Day (28%), Good Friday (28%), and New Year's Day (27%). In Victoria, two in five (40%) workers would like this option to work on Melbourne Cup Day, and 35% on AFL Grand Final Friday.

QUOTES

Indeed's Workplace Expert, Lauren Anderson, says:

"Most Australian workers want the ability to choose whether or not they work on public holidays.

"When a business is able to offer flexible leave, it can provide a number of benefits. It enables workers to observe days of personal or religious significance to them.

"Three out of five workers say they would be more likely to work for an employer who offers a flexible leave policy, therefore in a tight labour market flexible leave can be an attractive benefit."

ENDS

About the survey

The survey, commissioned by global job site Indeed, was conducted online between 20-27 December 2023, includes a national representative sample of 1,000 Australian workers aged between 18-64 currently in employment. The data was weighted by age, gender, and region to reflect the latest ABS Australian population estimates.

About Indeed

Indeed was founded in 2004 as the first comprehensive search engine for jobs. Since then, Indeed has grown to more than 7000 employees in 27 offices in 14 locations around the globe and is the #1 job site in the world. Indeed is committed to helping job seekers find the right job opportunities and to helping employers hire great talent. More than 250 million people, in over 60 countries and 28 languages, use Indeed each month to search for jobs, post resumes, and research companies. For more information, visit indeed.com