Australian companies offer bonuses to staff who show up in the office - in a ... trends now

Australia's one in five professionals who work from home could be deprived of bonuses and promotions as companies start rewarding those who turn up to the office.

This would be bad news for those forced to relocate back to a major capital city during a housing and cost of living crisis, should these bonuses fail to cover increased rents.

Insurance and banking group Suncorp is giving it team leaders leeway to award bonuses based on who makes an appearance at work.

'Our scorecards are used to determine overall performance rating, which is linked to bonuses for eligible employees,' a company spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

'Leaders will determine the right plan for their team aligned to the work they do, which may include a portion of time in the office where appropriate.'

Suncorp's hybrid working arrangements don't mandate minimum office attendance, with the spokeswoman stressing it was only 'a very small percentage of an overall performance rating'.

'We acknowledge that hybrid working is a key driver of our people’s engagement, attraction and retention,' she said.

She added a scoreboard taking into account office attendance was designed to boost workplace culture, but stressed it didn't stop team leaders from offering flexible working arrangements. 

'In an organisation as large and diverse as Suncorp, we know that a one size fits all approach simply won’t work,' the spokeswoman said.

'The intention of including these plans in our scorecards is acknowledging the role our ways of working plays in our culture and to provide clarity, something our people have been asking for through our regular feedback channels.'

Professor John Buchanan, a University of Sydney Business School labour market researcher and lecturer who has studied industrial relations since 1988, said the

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