Employers are finding new ways to ensure their teams are working cohesively, in response to the 37 per cent of employed people who regularly work from home. Research from Australia’s leading SME travel management provider has revealed that 81 per cent of businesses still have flexible or remote working arrangements in place, and 55 per cent are bringing their employees together in person more often through social events, team building days, and strategy and development sessions.
The findings come from a survey of an independent, nationally representative panel of 1,001 Australians, commissioned by Corporate Traveller, the flagship SME business of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG). Corporate Traveller asked respondents whether their employer was getting teams together more regularly through in-person social events, team building days, and strategy and business development sessions. It also explored whether these events were held close to the workplace or outside of their city.
Corporate Traveller found that 44 per cent of respondents in flexible working arrangements are coming together more often in person. Within this cohort, 17 per cent meet more often with their co-workers for social events. Social events allow team members to relax and interact away from the workplace setting. They can include anything from afternoon drinks and trivia nights to more elaborate parties and award balls.
Another 17 per cent have also been getting together with co-workers in team building days. Employers design such days to help teams bond and to create a culture of collaboration through structured but fun activities. They can include escape room challenges, fundraising activities, games or volunteering activities.
Nine per cent have been attending strategy sessions in person more often. Strategy and business development sessions are about identifying and planning business goals. They can be run by the company itself or by an independent facilitator.
Employers in Victoria are more likely than those in any other state to increase in-person meet-ups. Half (50%) of Victorian respondents said their bosses had organised more in-person team events, compared with 35 per cent of Queenslanders and 46 per cent of New South Wales respondents.
Corporate Traveller also asked respondents if these events are held outside of the workplace or city. Nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents said yes. Specifically, 48 per cent said their face-to-face events are held outside of the workplace. Almost a quarter (23%) said they are held outside the city, where employees need to fly to the location.
This trend is highest in New South Wales, where 78 per cent of respondents said such events are held outside the workplace and even the city, and lowest in South Australia, at 63 per cent and Victoria, at 64 per cent.
Although there is strong trend toward remote working, Tom Walley, Australian-based Global Managing Director at Corporate Traveller, says: “Employers are driving the movement back to the office and they will get more strategic and creative in the 2025 financial year to achieve their objective to get teams working better.
“There is a real desire among businesses for more human interaction, and while there are benefits to flexible arrangements, there are some things you simply can’t achieve remotely or online. In online meetings, it is more difficult to ‘read the room’ or identify non-verbal cues. You don’t always hear the nuanced meaning behind someone’s words.
“Employers are doing their best to balance the two demands by offering flexible working arrangements as well as regular, fun opportunities that bring workers together in-person and build a solid team. These events will ultimately benefit the business, the team and the mental health of employees.”
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