The Australian workplace is set to be a more flexible and mobile-orientated environment, according to a new survey.

The proliferation of mobile devices and collaboration tools will allow businesses to engage in more flexible, mobile, social and collaborative working environments, according to the Optus Business Future of Work report released this week.

The report revealed an increasing number of organisations will allow staff to use personal devices such as smartphones or tablets, to access the corporate network. 25% of HR respondents said flexible working hours and flexible working locations would be an essential element of the recruitment and retention of staff, over the next three to five years.

More than 320 Australian HR and IT professionals were surveyed about the impact of technology on the workplace and some disconnects between the two departments were revealed. The report said a lack of collaboration between HR and IT could prohibit the progression of the flexible workplace.

"IT departments need to educate their organisations on the tools available to support flexible working, while HR departments need to consult their IT teams on tools to support flexible working," said Scott Mason, director of marketing and strategy at Optus Business.

The survey revealed that whilst both departments agreed on the benefits of social media, both functions admit they typically don't work closely together on developing workplace social media strategies.

One third of HR teams believed allowing social media access from the workplace or company-issued devices would be essential to recruiting and retaining staff in the future.

"Through the effective use of mobile technologies, real-time collaboration tools and access to social media, businesses can improve workplace flexibility and productivity and gain an edge over their competitors. It's now up to IT and HR departments to work together to realise this vision," said Mason.

"The heads of IT and HR can meet regularly to understand key priorities and identify opportunities to work more closely together. IT and HR can also be encouraged to use new workplace collaboration tools to make collective decisions about future workplace policies and technologies."

HR respondents believed the biggest change in flexible working will be the rise in employees working from different remote locations (of the employee's choice), expecting an increase from 21% to 35%.