Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to lift productivity through innovation.
But a new survey suggests that many businesses do not have the workplace environment to tackle this challenge.
Two-thirds of employers concede that their workplaces were set up a long time ago and they had not yet considered making any changes.
More than a quarter of the 300 employers surveyed in the research commissioned by technology multinational Canon also have not considered enabling their staff to work remotely.
At the same time, just over 40 per cent of 1010 employees from businesses with more than 20 staff surveyed did not consider that their workplace drove productivity.
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A fraction less disagreed that their workplace fostered creativity and innovation, while almost 45 per cent said there wasn't up-to-date technology for staff.
Canon Oceania director Effie Fox said the findings demonstrate that Australian businesses typically have a way to catch up to the expectations of employees.
"Employers must be both alert and agile and respond to these changes, otherwise they are at risk of being overtaken by competitors," Ms Fox said,
They also risk missing out on attracting or retaining the best talent.
