Australian Workers Say They are Most Productive Outside of 9-5 Work Hours, According to Fiverr
Data suggests workers are able to maximise their most productive hours by choosing when and where to work.
Fiverr, the company revolutionising how the world works together, has released a study on Work Preferences. This global study conducted by CensusWide, surveyed 9,129 workers (employees and freelancers), including 1,008 Australian workers on their work preferences, revealing the increasing popularity of flexible work. It suggests that by embracing diverse working styles and prioritizing skills and productivity over hours worked, progressive organisations can maintain a diverse and competitive workforce.
"We at Fiverr are well aware that people can do great work outside the bounds of a 9-5," said Michal Miller Levi, Senior Director of Market Research and Insights at Fiverr. "Research has shown that the corporate work structure often fails to accommodate the needs of diverse talent, from young workers to parents, who thrive with flexibility and control over their work lives.
“This next-gen talent pool is the driver of the freelance population growth in recent years as they seek the control to work where and when they are most creative and productive. Fiverr’s freelance community has demonstrated that with the flexibility to work wherever they want, at the hours of their choosing, they’re able to produce the highest-quality work and carry projects over the finish line."
Among respondents in Australia, data showed:
Generations are divided on remote versus in-office work – but not the way many expect.
- Just over a third (36%) of workers surveyed said they prefer to work from home or to choose where they work each day.
- Millennial workers surveyed were most likely to prefer flexible or remote work, with 42% citing their optimal work environment as either remotely at home or being able to choose different places depending on the day. Meanwhile, Gen X, Gen Z and Baby Boomers respondents were less likely to say the same (33%, 32% and 31% respectively).
- Baby Boomer respondents were least likely to cite working in a private or shared office environment as their preference (22%). Whereas, Gen X (29%) and Gen Z (24%) workers surveyed were more likely to claim this as their preference.
- The large majority (77%) of respondents who said their current work arrangement did not meet their ideal preferences attributed it to the fact that they were required to be in the office more often than they preferred2.
- Among workers surveyed who said they preferred to work from home, 67% said they wanted to save money & time commuting. Over two in five (43%) said they found it distracting to work in an office space.
- Three in ten (32%) of millennial workers surveyed who said they preferred to work remotely said it’s because it makes it easier to manage childcare responsibilities.
For most, a 40-hour work week looks more like 30 hours, or even 20.
- Three-quarters of Australian workers surveyed (68%) say they could complete their current workload in a 4-day week3. Millennials are most likely to report feeling they could complete their work in 4 days, with 74% agreeing3.
- Australian workers surveyed estimate they are productive for an average of 31 hours per week. Just over 1 in 10 Australian respondents (14%) estimate they are only productive for at most 20 hours per week.
- Entrepreneurs are the early birds — almost half (43%) of business owners surveyed said they were most productive between 7am-10am, rather than during the standard work day.
Several key themes from the global data include:
Workers want to cut back on meetings and collaborate in-person when it matters.
- Globally, 46% of workers surveyed whose work requires them to work with or around others, either virtually or in person, prefer to have no more than one meeting a day4.
- When it comes to meetings, however, 59% of workers surveyed would prefer them to be in-person, either in an office or in another location, such as a coffee shop.
- More senior workers surveyed are more likely to prioritise in-person interaction — close to half (48%) of respondents at the Director level said they wanted to work with colleagues regularly or all of the time.
- Meanwhile, 29% of entry-level workers surveyed said they would prefer to communicate with colleagues through messaging platforms like Slack or via text.
Work-life balance and flexibility are key to the success of younger workers.
- Nearly a third (27%) of Gen Z workers surveyed reported feeling most creative and inspired outside of 9-5 work hours.
- Entry-level workers surveyed were around 20% less likely than the most senior workers (Directors) to report that their job met their ideal work preferences (58% vs 80% respectively3).
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 9,129 employees and freelancers (aged 16+) in the UK, USA, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, France and Australia. Among this sample was 1,008 Australian employees and freelancers (aged 16+). The data was collected between 08.18.2023 – 08.30.2023. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles.
Footnotes
1’In the very early morning (before 7am)’, ‘In the evening (5pm-7pm)’, ‘At night (7-9pm)’ and ‘Late at night (After 9pm)’ answers combined.
2 ‘I prefer to work remotely some days during the week, but I am required to work in-person 5 days a week’ and ‘I prefer to work remotely all of the time, but I am required to work in-person some or all days of the week’ answers combined.
3 ‘Somewhat agree’ and ‘Strongly agree’ answers combined.
4 Respondents were shown two prompts, ‘Virtual meetings’ and ‘In-person meetings’. This percentage has been calculated by combining the answer options ‘Once daily’, ‘Less than once a day, up to a few times per week’ and ‘Less than once a week, but still regularly’ for each prompt. (45.24% and 47.11% respectively). The percentage for meetings as a whole has then been calculated by finding the average of these two percentages.
About Fiverr
Fiverr’s mission is to revolutionise how the world works together. We exist to democratise access to talent and to provide talent with access to opportunities so anyone can grow their business, brand, or dreams. From small businesses to Fortune 500, over 4 million customers worldwide worked with freelance talent on Fiverr in the past year, ensuring their workforces remain flexible, adaptive, and agile. With Fiverr’s Talent Cloud, companies can easily scale their teams from a talent pool of skilled professionals from over 160 countries across more than 600 categories, ranging from programming to 3D design, digital marketing to content creation, and video animation to architecture.
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