One year into remote working, Aussies feel they’re working more sustainably

A year into working remotely, 79 per cent of Australians have said that their respective workplaces are operating more efficiently as such work arrangements have led to the adoption of more digital processes.

According to a survey of more than 1000 office workers by DocuSign, 68 per cent of Australian organisations have reduced their use of paper since working from home, with 48 per cent of them saying that have now gone completely paperless.

The report noted that Australian office workers used more than 115 sheets of paper per week prior to the COVID-19 lockdown. One year later, they’ve cut down to 50 sheets of paper per week. In addition, 48 per cent believe that remote working has moved business one step closer to becoming paperless.

The pandemic has brought the need for sustainability in business into sharp focus, with the survey indicating that 72 per cent of workers would like their business to focus on reducing paper use as a priority during the next 12 months.

“The mass transition to remote working as a result of COVID-19 has provided businesses with an opportunity to reassess everything from processes to culture,” Paul Cross, VP of Customer Success in Asia Pacific and Japan at DocuSign, said.

“The increased reliance on digital means that many businesses are one step closer to going paperless, helping to save time, money and the environment, with Australian workers using 45 per cent less paper each week than they were this time last year.

“Remote work’s flexibility will remain when people choose to work from the office some of the time,” Cross added. “Digital and cloud solutions enable flexible working, which in turn helps organisations operate more efficiently and sustainably.”

IT company Canopy Tools Group is an example of a business that has changed the way it works as a result of the pandemic.

“While we were a largely digital business prior to COVID-19, enforced remote working enabled us to address the manual processes that remained,” Craig Adams, the company’s CEO, said. 

“Working remotely has also highlighted our ability to operate as a completely paperless office,” Adams added. “From document management to sales and marketing campaigns, we run all of our processes using interconnected applications and platforms. The business card is dead.”