Working from home can positively impact the mental health of Australian men and women in different ways, according to a new study of more than 16,000 people.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne analysed 20 years of data compiled in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to understand how working from home can shape a person's mental wellbeing.

The study's results detailed significant improvements to the wellbeing of people who were already living with mental health issues and worked from home.

Researchers say they found no notable change among people who were not already dealing with mental health concerns.

Australian women who were already living with a mental health issue were found to experience the most benefits when they combined working between 50 and 75 per cent of their rostered hours from home with a "partial office/on-site presence".

"The most important finding of the study is that of hybrid work," Jan Kabatek, a researcher at the University of Melbourne and co-author of the study, told the ABC.

"The biggest gains for women were found for work from home arrangements, which involved the majority of days spent at home, but retaining at least one or two days of work from the office or on-site.

"You are retaining the connection to the firm and to your colleagues, you can talk in person, and you are retaining those social ties, but you also have this work-from-home aspect that is strong enough to make a difference."

The findings show that while the mental health of Australian men was not significantly impacted by working from home, their wellbeing was positively impacted by a reduction in daily commuting times when they did not have to travel to work.

This year's HILDA Survey showed Australia's average daily commute time had dropped between 2002 and 2023.

For instance, workers only travelled an average of 52 minutes a day to work in 2023, compared with 61 minutes in 2019.

Mr Kabatek's report said the wellbeing of Australians who had "satisfactory levels of mental health" was not significantly affected by work arrangements or daily commute.

It was "certainly possible" that they experienced mental benefits from working from home, the report said.

Data gathered in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was not analysed, and statistical findings that accounted for changes in mental health related to major life events, such as a person losing their job or giving birth to a child, were removed from the study.

Sarah McCann-Bartlett, the CEO of the Australian HR Institute, said similar hybrid and flexible working analysis conducted by her organisation earlier this year also showed that it could positively impact a person's wellbeing.

"Over 40 per cent said that they felt that hybrid working provided enhanced health and wellbeing benefits for employees.

"Both of those things have supported higher employee retention for employers and enhanced their ability to attract new candidates to vacant roles."

The ABC contacted the Business Council of Australia, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Australian Industry Group for further comment.

How many Australians are still working from home?

The HILDA survey showed that before 2019, about one in four Australians worked some part of their rostered hours from home.

That figure increased to 38 per cent during the pandemic, and more than one in three workers did some work from home in 2023.

The increase was most prevalent for workers living in capital cities, the survey said.

The data also showed that in 2023, 65 per cent of Australian workers did not work any hours from home, while another 27 per cent worked at least one full day at home.

"What the data shows is that the share of people who spend at least some time working from home is pretty much constant," Mr Kabatek said.

"It's basically where it was during COVID. What's changed a little bit is the structure because, of course, we had lockdowns, we couldn't go to work.

"We went from arrangements which reflected majority work-from-home arrangements to hybrid situations where people spend some time in the office.

"That is the fundamental change compared to the pandemic."

Ms McCann-Bartlett said the HR Institute's analysis has shown Australian workers prefer to work two or three days per week from home in 2025.

Will Australians continue to work from home in the future?

Mr Kabatek said his research showed Australian workers were continuing to push for employers to maintain flexible working arrangements into the future.

"There's definitely merit to it, and it's important to assess where these merits lie — whether it's mental health or it's wellbeing or it's a combination of work and childcare."

He also said he has not seen any credible evidence to suggest that working from home negatively impacts employees' productivity or the profitability of workplaces.

Ms McCann-Bartlett said 70 per cent of employers surveyed by AHRI reported they did not expect any change to hybrid working conditions in their workplaces for at least the next two years.

"A lot of them feel that hybrid working has supported productivity growth in their organisations," she said.

"On the other side of the equation, from the employees' point of view … the labour market in Australia is still really tight, and employees value flexibility highly in Australia.

"It means that those employers who offer hybrid and flexible working are in a better position to attract good candidates and to retain the good employees that they have already."