The Government is encouraging more public servants to return to their workplaces daily, aiming to reinforce this message among chief executives.

Public Service Minister Nicola Willis announced updated guidance that specifies working from home is not an entitlement but rather requires mutual agreement and monitoring.

“While carefully defined working from home arrangements can benefit workers and employers, if the pendulum swings too far in favour of working from home, there are downsides for employers and employees,” Willis stated.

She highlighted potential impacts on Central Business District (CBD) retailers, restaurants, and cafes, emphasising the importance of in-person collaboration.

Willis explained that face-to-face interactions foster better communication, skill-sharing, and relationship-building.

“It supports younger and newer employees to observe, learn from and form connections with their more experienced colleagues,” she added.

In light of these considerations, the Minister has directed the Public Service Commissioner to communicate the Government’s expectations to public service chief executives and to issue revised guidance on work-from-home policies.

The new guidelines outline three main expectations:

1. Working from home arrangements are not an entitlement and should be agreed upon by both the employee and the employer.
2. Such arrangements should only be approved if they do not compromise employee performance and agency objectives.
3. Agencies must actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements and regularly report this information to the Public Service Commission.

Currently, data regarding the prevalence of work-from-home arrangements is not centrally collected by the Public Service Commission.

Willis has called for improved data collection practices to allow for better comparison across agencies.

“I intend to then make this information public in a user-friendly way early next year,” she said, underscoring the Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in public service employment practices.