Trends and issues
DTMI is interested in understanding how flexible work arrangements have the potential to reshape peak-hour travel, with implications for congestion, public transport demand and planning for local roads, cycling and walking. Understanding these emerging patterns helps guide future service design and infrastructure investment.
Working from home frequency
- 44% of employed survey respondents worked from home at least once a week. 1
- Around 20% of employed respondents worked from home throughout the week on each day. 2
Working from home popularity
- Monday: 20%
- Tuesday: 18%
- Wednesday: 19%
- Thursday: 21%
- Friday: 24%
Working from the office
Tuesday is the most popular day for work in the office: 72% 3
Flexible working arrangements are expected to continue in Perth, reflecting national and international trends. 4
Related studies indicate that remote working can influence travel behaviour, including fewer long-distance commutes and more local trips. The scale and distribution of these changes may vary according to time and location, underscoring the need for continued, regular monitoring and analysis. 5, 6
1 Sample size n=809. Of these employed respondents, 353 worked from home at least one day per week.
2 Survey respondents were able to select both working from home and working from the office on the same day.
3 Explanatory note: 72% worked in the office on Tuesdays (approx. 598 of survey participants), 18% worked from home (approx. 150) and the remaining 10% were not working (approx. 83).
4 Ziffer D. (2025) Survey finds ‘return to office’ demands falling as hybrid work becomes new normal, ABC News, 22 April. Accessed at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-22/return-to-office-demands-fall-hybrid-work-new-norm-wfh-work-home/105137788; Roy Morgan Research (2025) More than 6.7 million Australians ‘work from home’, 12 August. Accessed at: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/9981-work-from-home-june-2025; Australian Bureau of Statistics (2024) Working arrangements, 9 December. Accessed at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/working-arrangements/latest-release; Transport for NSW (2022) Working from Home and Implications for Revision of Metropolitan Strategic Transport Models, 22 December. Accessed at: https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/data-and-research/research-hub/research-and-evaluation-projects/working-from-home-and-implications; UK Office for National Statistics (2025) Who has access to hybrid work in Great Britain? 11 June. Accessed at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/whohasaccesstohybridworkingreatbritain/2025-06-11.
5 iMOVE (2022) Working from Home: Changes in Transport Demand – the Case of Greater Perth, November. Accessed at: https://imoveaustralia.com/project/project-outcomes/working-from-home-greater-perth/; Daair I. (2024) Working from home changing how, when we get around cities, Municipal World, December. Accessed at: https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/working-from-home-changing-how-when-we-get-around-cities/; Dizikes P. (2024) Has remote work changed how people travel in the U.S?, MIT News, 9 April. Accessed at: https://sustainability.mit.edu/article/has-remote-work-changed-how-people-travel-us.
6 Bryant T et al (2021) The impact of working from home on travel demand: a methodology and preliminary estimates from Victoria., Australasian Transport Research Forum, ATRF, 8-10 December. Accessed at: https://australasiantransportresearchforum.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ATRF2021_Resubmission_49-1.pdf; George, C & Tomer A (2023) With commuting down, cities must rethink their transport networks, Brookings Institute. Accessed at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/with-commuting-down-cities-must-rethink-their-transportation-networks/.