WFH, although sounding a little like another acronym that should be avoided, is a post-Covid feature. A partial RTO (return to the office) followed the Covid lockdown.
Now, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis has warned state servants that WFH (working from home) is not an entitlement.
Department bosses are directed to tighten up such arrangements; they should only be made by agreement and monitored and not compromise performance. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon backs her, citing the needs of junior staff and office collaboration.
Auckland radio host Heather du Plessis-Allan joined the fray with a caustic column about TWATS — public servants who only bother coming into the office Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. "Obviously, it’s just a wild coincidence that the WFH days are on either side of the weekend", she wrote. "It won’t be at all because that creates a four-day weekend and allows a public servant to spend four whole glorious days at the beach house."
She said there were no downsides to ordering public servants back to the office.
Not so. There are long lists of pros, as well as cons, to WFH.
Offices provide collegiality, co-operation, collaboration and social and learning opportunities.
Knowledge is often acquired by osmosis. More sharing and caring are possible, but also more conflict and bullying.
WFH provides flexibility (notably for parents), freedom from office distractions and potentially more efficiency. It saves time, money, congestion and emissions on commutes. Staff looking after sick children can continue to contribute. Those with minor illnesses can WFH instead of spreading bugs around the office. WFH also allows staff to flee Auckland and Wellington and work elsewhere. Better work/life balance is frequently enhanced.
Civis believes we should encourage hybrid work (let’s call it HW) when it suits employees and works well for employers, achieving the better of both worlds.
Those out-of-town workers should also regularly gather to meet their teams.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are popular work-in-the-office (WO?) days. One hot-desk office is full to overflowing on those occasions and sparsely populated on others.
Civis wonders if unstated influences underlie the RTO push.
There’s envy from those unable to WFH because of the nature of their jobs.
There are bosses keen to see their charges close by because control is in their very nature. Managers can be suspicious that those out of sight are failing to pull their weight, even without such evidence.
WFH and remote staff themselves are potentially disadvantaged because they can miss the loyalties enhanced by closer personal connections. Similar forces mean head office workers are less likely to be made redundant, while out-of-sight distance operations and offices are more likely to be shut down.
Certain professions are also infamous for inflicting on the next generations what they had to suffer. If it was good enough for us to always come into the office, it should be for them too.
Older and established workers need to accept the world has changed, sometimes for the better.
WFH flexibility, if it works both ways and is not abused, should be the order of today.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
From Civis’ occasional series "from the mouths of babes" or young children, comes a story about a smart 6-year-old girl and a lesson learned.
Her parents had taught her that they would look up books (yes not just the internet) and learn that way. The parents were acknowledging they often don’t know the answers.
One day the girl’s father told her his decision had to be obeyed because he was the parent while she was the child.
The girl’s response was immediate: "Maybe you should look up a book on parenting."
