Public Service Minister Nicola Willis has directed department bosses to tighten up on working-from-home arrangements.
She says they should only be by agreement, should not compromise performance, and departments and agencies must regularly report on the number and nature of agreements in place.
Are you a public servant willing to be interviewed about working from home arrangements? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz
Working from home arrangements can benefit workers and employers, but "if the pendulum swings too far in favour of working from home, there are downsides" for both, as well as effects on CBD retailers, restaurants and cafes, Willis said.
She said she had asked the Public Service Commissioner to immediately communicate the government's new guidelines:
- Working from home arrangements are not an entitlement and should be by agreement between the employee and the employer;
- Working from home arrangements should only be agreed to where they will not compromise the performance of employees and agency objectives, and;
- Agencies must actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements, and be able to regularly report to the Public Service Commission about the number and nature of the agreements they have in place
Willis said there were good reasons employees had traditionally been physically brought together for work.
"It allows for face-to-face conversation, the sharing of skills and experience and relationship building. It supports younger and newer employees to observe, learn from and form connections with their more experienced colleagues.
"Many good employers have been taking active steps to ensure their working from home policies are fit for purpose. It's time the government did the same."
Willis said she was very reluctant to set out a specific minimum number of days in the office per week, "because that could set out an expectation that you're entitled to a day from home".
She said the expectations would not prevent working from home from happening, but "if it's possible for you to work in the office, you should".
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government had a "big programme of work", and thanked the public service workers who helped make that happen, but he expected them to be highly productive and collaborative.
"I do not want to see working from home undermining that ambition that we have," he said. "What was introduced as a temporary measure during Covid four years ago risks putting pressure on team performance, office culture and workforce development."
"Ill-managed work from home not only threatens public sector performance today, it also puts the quality of our future leadership at risk."
He was repeatedly asked if the government had evidence to back up its claims and the resulting need for the guidelines, but did not point to any specific piece of evidence - merely referring to overseas studies he'd read showing those working from home received "less career counselling, less talent development investment".
Willis referred to a 2021 survey during the height of the pandemic saying it showed about 58 percent of respondents used working from home arrangements.
Other parties respond
Labour's Carmel Sepuloni said she acknowledged working from the office was helpful for team-building, but the government's prioritisation of it and its stance was "quite frankly bizarre".
"I think they are bereft of ideas and actions and anything meaningful for New Zealanders, hence why they spent so much time on this particular issue."
She said the government had no hard evidence, and in some cases where public servants worked from home because of a severe weather event "their productivity was able to be measured ... they were working incredibly hard".
The 6000 job losses from the public sector was much more likely to have an impact on Wellington businesses than the number of people working from home one or two days a week, she said.
Laughable given public service job cuts - Greens
Green Party spokesperson for the public service Francisco Hernandez said the move was a "shallow soundbite policy and a cheap shot to a public service that is being gutted by the government".
"Undermining our public servants at every opportunity will only lead to an erosion of the services we all rely on," he said. "This gimmick government wants to take us back to the pre-internet days when we lacked the flexibility to adopt working arrangements that work for our workers. This government quite clearly mistrusts and undervalues the public service."
He said it was laughable for the prime minister to claim the changes would be good for Wellington given the recent job cuts.
"If we want to reinvigorate the heart of our cities, we need to support public and active transport, bolster our urban density and stop gutting public services, slashing jobs and cutting incomes."
ACT leader David Seymour said he welcomed the new approach, which would mean the public service "having the same work from home expectations as the rest of New Zealand".
"Nothing captures Labour's legacy like dead Wellington streets, a ballooning public service, and declining public service results all at the same time. The problem was no public servants going to work," he said.
He argued the government should be going further.
"ACT aims for the public service to work when they're in the office, with productivity growth across the board."
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