Return to office champions discouraged, but not defeated, by federal election message

Property developer Tim Gurner says work from home needs to end, despite public servants winning the ‘golden ticket’ to keep their flexible WFH lifestyles under Labor’s re-election.

Former MMG CEO Andrew Michelmore said that misreading the mood on work from home was one of many policy areas that led to a Liberal and National Party defeat. Picture: Nikki Short

The return to office movement won’t be dissuaded by Peter Dutton’s thumping at the federal election, according to property developer Tim Gurner, who has become a talisman for private enterprises demanding workers commit more days to the office.

Mr Gurner believes work from home remained a “nuanced, industry specific issue”, and those companies that attracted their workers to the office would outperform hybrid work employers over the next decade.

The entrepreneur, who triggered a backlash in 2023 when he said that a rise in the unemployment rate was needed “to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around”, was backed by other senior business leaders who reflected on Anthony Albanese’s stunning electoral victory to call for broader productivity reform.

Tim Gurner believes companies where workers are not isolated by work from home will thrive in the next decade. Picture: Aaron Francis / The Australian

The workplace issue flared up at the start of the federal election campaign when Mr Dutton announced he would end the right of Commonwealth public servants to work from home but then spectacularly dumped the policy within days after a backlash from voters, and especially women.

“Work-from-home is a nuanced, industry-specific issue. While many sectors - like technology - may continue to thrive with remote flexibility, other industries will likely move toward more structured in-office models to drive culture, collaboration and long-term growth,” Mr Gurner, who is ranked 228th according to Richest 250 with a net worth of $745m, told The Australian.

He predicted workers connecting with each other in the office - instead of over Zoom calls - represented the companies that would most likely succeed over the next 10 years.

“The most visionary companies will strike the right balance between flexibility and leadership. Mentorship, strategy and culture-building are incredibly difficult to replicate through a screen - and I believe the organisations that prioritise human connection and development will outperform in the decade ahead.”

Mr Gurner argued the election result signalled that Australians had sent a strong message that they expect leadership which restores economic confidence and sets a clear path for prosperity.

“With a majority government now in place, I hope we see bold yet balanced policies that strengthen our economy, reignite business investment, and - most importantly - address the housing crisis with urgency and innovation,” Mr Gurner added.

Minerals Council chairman Andrew Michelmore agrees Commonwealth public servants have won the “golden ticket” to work from home. Picture: Nikki Short

Minerals Council of Australia chairman and former MMG boss Andrew Michelmore, who in 2023 was one of the defenders of Mr Gurner’s controversial comments around worker productivity, agreed that Commonwealth public servants appeared to have won the ‘golden ticket’ in being allowed to work from home at will.

“That certainly seems to be the case and again sitting in Melbourne during the Daniel Andrews era and the public service grew, they were working from home.

“And people got very used to that,” Mr Michelmore told The Australian.

Mr Michelmore had previously described work from home as a “lifestyle that was not sustainable”.

On Sunday, he clarified that work from home was suited to some industries, but certainly not mining, and there was a dire need to address worker productivity.

“You see various reports on productivity and the last one I saw said they spend more hours working (at home), yes, but does that equate to productivity? How do you measure what is produced in those hours?

“Work from home isn’t a blanket thing, it depends on the job. In the mining industry your operations can’t work from home. There might be some roles in head office able to be more flexible.”

Mr Michelmore said he believed the Coalition’s fumbled policy cancelling work from home rights for Commonwealth public servants was only one of many issues, like the impact of President Donald Trump, that could explain the Liberal and National Party’s defeat.

“People are jumping at a whole pile of things and I don’t think any one of them caused the surprising extent of the swing (to Labor).”

Bunnings boss Michael Schneider said the employer had maintained a flexible policy: “Ultimately you have to trust your team to do the work.”

He said business wanted to work constructively with the re-elected Labor government.

“There wasn’t much released on industrial relations coming into the election so it is very hard to have a view on what they (the Albanese government) will do, we would just love to be involved in any productive conversation.”

Mike Schneider, managing director of Bunnings, allows a flexible working environment for staff. Picture: Peter Mathew

Ahead of Australians going to the polls, the Australian Industry Group urged Dutton to reduce existing work from home rights for public servants from 2027, should he succeed. In fact, the backlash was so acute the Coalition leader formally retired the idea on April 7.

Labor tactically seized on the Coalition’s return to office edict and invoked parallels with the push from US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to slash the Washington bureaucracy.

Originally published as Return to office champions discouraged, but not defeated, by federal election message