The idea that more flexible workplaces promise advantages to all is not new. For decades, Australians have been told that with the aid of new technologies, we can “work smarter, not harder” to achieve a better work-life balance and greater productivity.

Goodbye to rigid nine-to-five office-based regimes. Employees will be able to negotiate working arrangements that allow them to care for their children and their aged parents and better manage their own health and personal needs while still participating effectively at work. New technologies enable us to do our work wherever we are, seamlessly interweaving it with our other activities.