‘Out of touch’: Anthony Albanese slams Coalition’s WFH crackdown

Businesses also fear a federal election fought on work from home rights will reverse the “progress” made in getting employees back to the office.

Businesses fear a federal election fought on work from home rights will reverse the “progress” made in getting employees back to the office, as Anthony Albanese slams a Coalition push to crack down on public servants working remotely as “out of touch”.

The Prime Minister has taken aim at the opposition’s pledge to get a majority of taxpayer-funded workers back into Canberra offices five days a week, saying it would disadvantage Australians based in the regions and force parents to reduce their hours.

“Working from home has had a range of advantages,” he said.

“One of those is less time travelling, whether that be in a private motor vehicle or on public transport to and from home.

“It’s also enabled people to overcome the tyranny of distance in this great country.”

Anthony Albanese the PM of Australia holds a press conference in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Mr Albanese said the flexibility had also contributed to an increase in workforce participation, particularly among women with families.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton wants the rate of public servants working from home to be slashed, saying this would help people balance their lives and also “deliver efficiency”.

“I don’t believe that … 61 per cent of the public servants who are working in Canberra should be working from home,” he said earlier this month.

“I think they should return to work, back to pre-Covid levels which was just over 20 per cent of people who work from home.”

Sydney Business executive director Paul Nicolaou the last thing businesses needed was for attitudes to working from home to be “entrenched in two opposing political camps”.

“It’s not a matter of politics for businesses, for many, it’s a matter of survival,” he said.

“Political warfare over WFH can only stymie progress in workers coming back to the office.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaks at a press conference after a visit to headspace in Parramatta. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said it was up to employers to set out what they expected from employees.

“Australia is facing a productivity issue, and we know that you get greater productivity by coming back into the office,” he said.

“But equally, we’ve seen advancements where that flexibility of work is improving upon the productivity as well.”

Mr Guerra said he expected the debate would ultimately “settle” around having a certain number of days or adjusted hours in the office balanced alongside more flexible options.

Flight Centre chief Graham Murphy said he thought it was “brave” of the opposition to bring up WFH during the election.

“My policy is that I’m happy for people who work from home, particularly if it’s on a public holiday or weekend,” he said.

“But the other side of it is, I think that it depends some people can be very productive at home and others can be very unproductive.

“So it’s a really an individual thing, and … there’s not a really simple answer.”

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said there were “advantages” from being physically in the workplace, like team building and mentoring for members of staff, but there were “also benefits that come from flexibility”, including that it helps facilitate greater participation by women.

“It follows that every employer should be able to decide what works best for its workforce,” he said.

Originally published as ‘Out of touch’: Anthony Albanese slams Coalition’s WFH crackdown