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Bizarrely enough, the tug-of-war over working from home is becoming a culture war.
There are the bosses and generally older people saying that employees need to get back to the office, and the employees who are refusing to do so, saying they're more productive at home and it improves their quality of life.
Covid-19 is likely here to stay as a virus. But perhaps its most noticeable legacy will be working from home. Working from home is not a new idea - I remember first reading about it around the turn of the century and thinking 'that'll be the day, maybe in the far future.' But the lockdowns to stop covid spread broke through the psychological barrier where a technological barrier no longer existed.
Australia has some much more serious problems, like inflation and inequality. Yet the WFH wars are heating up and becoming a sore point between some employers and employees.
The Commonwealth Bank recently ordered its staff back to the office, causing a big backlash.
The Community and Public Sector Union has just struck a deal with the Australian Public Service to not cap WFH days or refuse WFH without a genuine reason. The Federal Government is one of the largest employers in Australia.
Lobby groups are pushing for back to the office. Jeff Kennett caused a stir by saying remote working employees should take a pay cut because they don't commute and some jobs need to be done on site.
Unemployment is at near-record lows. Will employers have more bargaining power when the labour market tide turns?
What has your experience been with working from home? Can you do your job from home? Have you moved to an organisation where they're more or less amenable to WFH? What do you prefer? Is there now a societal divide between the work from home crew and the jobs that can't be done from home?
There are the bosses and generally older people saying that employees need to get back to the office, and the employees who are refusing to do so, saying they're more productive at home and it improves their quality of life.
Covid-19 is likely here to stay as a virus. But perhaps its most noticeable legacy will be working from home. Working from home is not a new idea - I remember first reading about it around the turn of the century and thinking 'that'll be the day, maybe in the far future.' But the lockdowns to stop covid spread broke through the psychological barrier where a technological barrier no longer existed.
Australia has some much more serious problems, like inflation and inequality. Yet the WFH wars are heating up and becoming a sore point between some employers and employees.
The Commonwealth Bank recently ordered its staff back to the office, causing a big backlash.
The Community and Public Sector Union has just struck a deal with the Australian Public Service to not cap WFH days or refuse WFH without a genuine reason. The Federal Government is one of the largest employers in Australia.
Lobby groups are pushing for back to the office. Jeff Kennett caused a stir by saying remote working employees should take a pay cut because they don't commute and some jobs need to be done on site.
Unemployment is at near-record lows. Will employers have more bargaining power when the labour market tide turns?
What has your experience been with working from home? Can you do your job from home? Have you moved to an organisation where they're more or less amenable to WFH? What do you prefer? Is there now a societal divide between the work from home crew and the jobs that can't be done from home?