Commonwealth Bank work from home edict - what you’re saying

CommBank employees have been up in arms over a new working from home edict. Readers have been expressing their own strongly worded opinions on the matter. Read them here.

When Covid struck in 2020, working from home was all we could do to keep the wheels turning.

But three years later, is the age of working from home in your trackie daks all but over?

Companies around the world have been recalibrating their blended working policies to encourage more employees to get back to corporate headquarters.

Recently, CommBank executives sparked an internal revolt when it issued an edict demanding its 49,000 employees spend at least 50 per cent of their working month back in the office, starting on July 17.

The directive sparked a wave of anger among employees, who lashed out at a town hall meeting to discuss the change.

As news.com.au’s Georgina Noack reported, comments leaked to a business gossip Instagram account described the meeting as a “bloodbath”.

CommBank is still dealing with the fallout but are huge corporations, or businesses of any size, actually within their rights to make what some see as a not unreasonable demand that employees front up to the office for work?

Columnist Caleb Bond thinks so. You can read his strongly-worded thoughts here.

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In the meantime, here’s what readers like you have been saying about the vexed issue of working from home.

WORK FROM HOME? HA! MUST BE NICE

DARREN
Geez I’d love to work from home. Not sure if the wife would like a forklift in the house though.

COMMON SENSE
Yet another public service perk. Meanwhile those in education, retail and health just get on with the job of accountable, work at work.

ANDREW
Many can’t work from home so should they be subsidised for their travel through generous tax deductions

GET BACK TO THE OFFICE

CHRIS
We saw what a year of schooling via zoom did to the kids .... huge issues with social skills suffering. The damage caused by loss of play time and interaction with other kids is still mounting. So, WFH does the very same thing. Part of enjoying your job is meeting people and making friendships. You learn from the ways that successful people operate, but you also learn from people who are just wasting time. When I was employed full time in a corporate role, I would work one day per month from home. But that was to write the board report - no phones, no interruptions with people asking questions, laughing in the office etc etc. It seemed to work. But I needed to be in the office every other day to experience the running of the business before I could report on it.

PAUL
WFH is the epitome of laziness and lacks opportunity for innovation and development.

PETER
So disrespectful to the employers who are giving you an income. What is happening to our society, it is so me me me.

ARTIEK

Sack every last, lazy one of them and fill their positions with people who are willing to work in the office.

JINGO
The ‘pretend to work’ from home brigade use all kinds of arguments why it’s better for business, including the ‘saved commuting time’...... But all I regularly hear from WFH friends and acquaintances are the amazing anecdotes about what really happens at WFH.

There are the daily trips to gym, the regular and frequent dog walks, endless ‘smokos’ with bottomless cups of coffee in the sunny corner in the garden, Netflix (with and without chill, according to the stories), computer games and other interesting distractions too many to mention.

The weekdays have been renamed: There is Minimal Monday, Tasty Tuesday (apparently for breakfast dates?), Workless Wednesday ..... and so on. All I can say, as a small business owner, that (I’ve had a) gutful of having to waste many, many. many hours every week on the phone to banks, energy companies, couriers, phone companies, insurance companies - trying to resolve day to day problems that would normally have taken a handful of minutes to resolve pre-WFH plague.

The end result is that my personal productivity, and that of hundreds of thousands of other small businesses, will have to cop the price for this extraordinary indulgence where the workforce is now determined to do as little as possible for the biggest remigration as possible.

GINO
There is no way someone working from home are as productive as those working in an office. Therefore if they wish to do so they should have their pay reduced. They are saving on petrol and travelling and of course buying and maintaining acceptable attire. I would say those working at home probably wouldn’t get out of their pyjamas.

THE REAL ROBERT
Christmas party is going to be interesting via zoom. Or will they still want to attend in person?

MWAHAHA
As a former CBA employee in a complex business environment, WFH was the worst thing for productivity. Some jobs can be done anywhere. But for the rest, they should be back in the office. Too many bludgers in the bank, frankly.

MAC

If you act like a kindergarten kid then expect to be treated like one... Just get back to work like everyone else and start to provide a service to your customers.

PEACHES
This is a dangerous time for many people as so many jobs are going to become automated. If you work from home, your job can be done just as easily by a computer or by someone overseas, for a much cheaper price and without all the conditions and benefits you are given.

If you want to save your job, or even have a job in the future, please go back to the office.

MARK

Working from home is lazy and exhibits a poor work ethic.

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

PETE
We have a flexible workplace which mainly revolves around childcare. But I insist all 50 people come to the office all week unless there there is a special reason. I pay them and it’s my right to choose what is best for the business.

SCONSKI
I am lucky, I have flexibility to work a hybrid. I love being in the office, so many opportunities to connect, ask questions and gain support from colleagues. I also like WFH days so I can sleep in! If my company said no to WFH I would be ok with that, they make the rules, it’s their right.

JOE
Hybrid work environment only if it works. If not back to the office, if you want to work from home full time then get your pay reduced.

RYAN
I’m doing more effective and efficient work when WFH. I even sometimes do more work even at night time. I’m am office worker, so I’m not front facing. I’m happier as an employee having the opportunity to WFH, so isn’t that what’s important for a company? I’m not a lazy millenial because I do a lot of work when WFH. If I go into office more, don’t expect me to do that same workload due to wasted time on public transport. So I’m happy just doing my eight hours in office to satisfy our customers when you don’t even see my work specifically. Does it matter where you work as long as you do the work and (are) efficient/effective? Especially when we have come to embrace technology and been doing this for the past two years during Covid.

CATHY

I commute four hours a day to/from work. The days I work from home my employer actually gets those four hours in productivity (for free, because I am on a salary).

I don’t have a team at work, I’m a team of one, so nobody is impacted by my not being in the office. And I have less distraction at home than I do in the office. I’m always at my computer, actually, working when I’m WFH. It’s not a one size fits all situation, each case should be assessed on its individual merits.

ANGELA
If businesses want people back in the office more, fair enough. As a worker I then dont want a company mobile, just a desk phone....and forget the laptop, I’ll take a desktop.

At least that way work wont follow me home.

WORKING FROM HOME WORKS

DAVID
The job was advertised work from home. Allows us to save money on expenses, childcare and better life. Now just want to take it away.

THE GURU

The office environment is counter-productive to achievement. It encourages fawning, spreading of gossip, and less work. WFH is here to stay!

NIALL
Wow the sour grapes from those that don’t have jobs where they can work from home is amazing. Why begrudge such a good work life benefit for others if it’s shown to work and help companies attract and retain good staff?

LEE
Yep, nothing like open plan offices, all those distractions, chats about footy teams, what you did on the weekend got to be adding to the bottom line.

ROY
Work from anywhere is the way of the future for some professions, get on with it...

Ask yourself, if you could, then would you?

MIKE
Bosses just need to set KPI’s for the people at home, Check in on them via teams etc. you know, like bosses should already be doing to make sure that their staff have what they need and the support required to do their job. Then if they are meeting all their targets what’s the problem? It is actually an opportunity. Big companies like CBA can save money for their customers, or bump up profits by giving up the leases on so many large buildings as everyone is working from home. Just retain enough for the staff that frequently go to the office are a required to be at the office to carry out their work.

RYAN4ALL
It shows how little the company thinks of its staff that they need to be trated like children.

BEN
It was a financial and work/life balance plus to work from home. It’s now the norm.

If you want people to spend more time and money commuting, there will need to be an incentive to do so. Especially with inflation and CPI the way it is.

DONNA
I signed up initially to work from home and go into the office occasionally for training and meetings. I find I am so much more productive at home verse office.

HAYWARD
Clearly the level of WFH happening at CBA hasn’t affected the company’s profits....

What do you think? Comment below.