Faster broadband looks set to change the traditional model of work-life balance for a new generation of young Australians.
This is according to research produced by KPMG and commissioned by the National Broadband Network (NBN), the company in charge of building an ultra-fast broadband network for Australia.
The country is moving towards a highly connected society where the next generation may not ever have to work an uninterrupted eight-hour day, according to the research. Other staples of the Australian lifestyle – like watching pre-programed TV or moving to the big city – may also decline in popularity because of the cultural changes caused by advances in technology.
The “Aussie way of life” will look much different when the nation is connected to the NBN, with demographer Bernard Salt coining the term “GenNBN” to describe those who might never remember the good old days.
Because of technology, this generation is free from the “dogma of living in the suburbs and working in the city,” Mr Salt says. They will “increasingly re-organise when and where work is delivered. Work in the future may be completed in blocks of time spread throughout the day or the week and delivered from the home, a cafe or even from the beach,” he says.
Australia’s most connected generation will grow up in an age where they have universal access to fast broadband, which will allow them to rearrange the traditional work-life model to better accommodate their individual needs.
Many companies have been working for the past few years to build the ultra-fast broadband network across the country. Business process management software, like ConSol from Yarris, is one way those building the network can handle the management of contractors on the huge project.
NBN hopes that within two years more than one-third of all Australians will be connected to the network. The company aims to have most of the country connected by 2020. “This level of super connectedness will help deliver Australians the lifestyle they have always wanted: better connectivity to close the digital divide, enhanced personal relationships and to facilitate the pursuit of new leisure interests,” says Mr Salt.
