This Month
Victoria’s WFH laws may kill internships at Bosch
Bosch Australia president Gavin Smith says he despairs for Victoria’s future under work-from-home laws that may prompt his company to stop offering internships
October
More WFH claims to come as workers strive to reset power balance
More work-from-home claims are likely to follow the Westpac Fair Work ruling, which upheld the case of a woman who moved 80km away from her office.
Westpac ruling shows workplace flexibility pendulum has swung too far
Common sense return-to-office policies have been thrown out the window and a terrible precedent set, ignoring the realities of running a business.
Co-working spaces back with a vengeance in work-from-home era
The pandemic – and bad behaviour – put an end to the 2010s boom. Now the sector is staging a quiet comeback as businesses look for flexibility.
Banker who moved closer to private school has win on back to office
The Westpac staffer who had moved house to be closer to a private school for her children argued it would take two hours for her to travel to the office.
Union push to protect penalties, overtime for WFH
The ACTU has been accused of attempting to stifle the Fair Work Commission’s capacity to facilitate working from home arrangements.
September
Escape rooms, dogs: How smaller firms draw staff to the office
Smaller organisations are averaging a higher office attendance rate than larger firms, new research reveals.
Karaoke, self-serve matcha and free lunch: Is this how to end WFH?
Nothing is too out of the box for Pinterest’s new Sydney space, which feels more like a wellness studio than an office.
Why remote work is bad for young women
While working from home benefits experienced staff, it disadvantages one group more than others, a study by three economists has found.
Victoria’s tax and WFH systems hold back office inflection point
The hard reality for the nation’s second-biggest economy is that its interventionist and complex tax regime encourages capital flight.
Want your staff back at their desks? Maybe make the office less boring
Cushman & Wakefield’s Despina Katsikakis has spent years thinking about the perfect workplace. She says mandating a return to the office will just not work.
August
ANZ threatens pay cuts as it demands staff return to office
Chief executive Nuno Matos has told some staff their salaries are at risk if they fail to show up to the office for at least half of their working days.
Date nights, shared calendars: How power couples make it work
Working couples are finding time for family in between long days, countless meetings, late night phone calls and international trips. How do they do it?
Got a workplace dispute? AI can mediate
Britain’s employment conciliation chief says rollout of technology will help the agency cope with the expected surge in calls as new worker rights take effect.
Minister for or against the environment?
Readers’ letters on environmental protection, battery subsidies, net zero, NIMBYism, flexible work and the Iran menace.
One country’s quiet shift to a four-day working week
The Netherlands is a key case study for the advantages and trade-offs of reduced hours in the workplace, and shows the predictions of economic self-harm are overdone.
Labor rejects national WFH laws, despite Victorian push
The federal government has declined to criticise the Victorian WFH push, but indicated it has no plans to replicate the idea.
WFH a symptom of Victoria’s post-pandemic trauma
The youth crime crisis should prompt soul-searching on both sides of the aisle in Spring Street about the state’s pandemic legacy.
Labor’s ‘right to disconnect’ is a disconnect from reality
It isn’t clear whether it is Jimbo-ambition-nomics or Albo-veto-nomics that is determining the government’s economic agenda.
Victoria’s WFH culture ‘stifling innovation’
Reece’s Peter Wilson is the latest executive to single out the state as an economic laggard, telling investors it’s “the toughest place in the country” to do business.