Workwhistle

The Age - Melbourne,Australia
JAMES Marburg is very adaptable when it comes to work.

A rare break in training for the Olympic silver medallist rower gives him a chance to pull out his laptop computer and squeeze in a few hours' work in a boat shed, in lieu of a city office.

Mr Marburg works for ANZ Bank as a communications adviser. He reflects the new, flexible Australian workforce.

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show nearly a quarter of Australian workers do some of their work each week away from the office.

Nearly 2.5 million Australian employees take work home, fit it into weekends, or in Mr Marburg's case, squeeze it in around training for the London Olympics.

More than a third said the need to "catch up" was the reason they brought work home, while 22 per cent said having an office at home with no rent or overheads was the reason to eschew the water cooler conversations and communal fridge.

Men in managerial positions were most likely to work from home (31 per cent), followed by technicians and tradesmen (18 per cent), while women working from home were most likely to be professionals (39 per cent) or clerical and administrative workers (23 per cent).

Eight per cent, or one in 12 Australian workers, work more from home than any other place. The majority (83 per cent) of those were aged 35 years or older, and most (55 per cent) were women.

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