New research has revealed Australian workers increasingly value flexible working arrangements, and some even rate it as more important than a higher salary.

The survey of 1,000 Australian office workers, commissioned by specialised recruitment firm Robert Half, found that 84 per cent of Australian office workers are willing to accept a lower salary for more benefits.

Flexibility tops the charts, with 47 per cent saying they would be willing to accept lower pay in return for flexible working hours, while 40 per cent said they would do so if they had the option to work from home, 37 per cent would do so for increased holiday allowance, 36 per cent for medical benefits and 31 per cent for travel allowances such as company cars and fuel expenses.

“While salary is a prime motivator and the main incentive of a remuneration package, it is one component,” said Andrew Brushfield, director of Robert Half Australia.

“Flexibility is increasingly becoming one of the most in-demand workplace benefits and Australians are actively seeking out job opportunities that not only satisfy their monetary ambitions but also their lifestyle needs, such as flexible working hours, the ability to work from home or additional holidays,” he said.

“Employers are fast realising these non-monetary benefits help to build a satisfied, motivated, productive and loyal workforce. In a candidate-short employment market, Australian companies benefit from diversifying their incentives offerings beyond the purely financial aspect in order to attract and retain high-calibre professionals.”

The findings have been published in the 2018 Robert Half Salary Guide, which provides an overview of the current employment trends in sectors including IT, accounting and finance, financial services and administration.