Tech boss points to ‘bigger problem’ for companies pushing workers back to offices

The boss of a major tech company says companies sticking with flexible rules clearly have the “upper hand” in the WFH debate.

The Australian boss of a major tech company says businesses that argue working from home hampers productivity need to address bigger concerns.

A mandate to work from the office is unlikely to fix a “bigger problem” of employees who won’t do their jobs without a manager “hovering over them”, HP Australia director Brad Pulford has told NewsWire.

Research from the Australian HR Institute shows working-from-the-office mandates have peaked in the Australian economy.

Released in April, the research finds mandates for a certain number of in-person days are now falling.

About one-third of Australians work from home some of the time. Picture: iStock

Multinationals and Australia’s biggest homegrown firms represent a broad spectrum of policies.

Amazon, Dell and Tabcorp have ordered workers into the office five days a week.

Coles has tightened the reins on its administrative staff, with one day in-person minimums becoming a three-day mandate this year. Woolworths office staff need to show up three days a week too.

Commonwealth Bank and ANZ staff need to rock up for half of all working days per month. At National Australia Bank, the rank and file need to show face three times a week, and managers only get one day at home per week.

On paper, the NSW public service is the biggest employer in the country.

Public servants in that state were sent a memo last year saying they would “principally” need to be in the office, but different agencies are mandating different rules. The availability of actual desks is cited online by workers as a tangible factor at each agency.

Commuting to work costs the average Australian worker about $5300 each year, research from Deloitte Access Economics has found. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Pulford points to HP’s own analysis, which shows 73 per cent of people think it’s important that staff are empowered to work in the way that best suits their personal needs and maximises their effectiveness.

However, Australian workers do not think they are entitled to flexible working arrangements, the HP analysis shows.

Among Australian ‘knowledge workers’, 92 per cent would take a pay cut to work where and when they want, or for a better work-life balance.

“There are real and persistent concerns over team collaboration, organisational culture and performance management,” Mr Pulford said.

“Some professions require in-person creativity. Others have a physical component that can’t be replicated. But these problems can be managed.

“The businesses that are going against the grain usually cite productivity as their main justification. But if your employees won’t do their job without a manager hovering over them, arguably you have a bigger problem,” he said.

HP employs 435 people in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Pulford said flexible working arrangements were “not a free-for-all” at the tech firm, but an issue to be managed “carefully and thoughtfully”.

“Our employees are at times required to connect in person at our HP sites to further business goals.”

The Australian job market had clearly adapted with one-third of people working remotely at least some of the time, he said.

“We think the entire conversation around hybrid work needs to shift. If the debate hasn’t been decided entirely, we think those in favour of hybrid work definitely have the upper hand at this point.”

“We should spend less time arguing about whether it’s acceptable and more time thinking about how we can use it to drive growth by creating better workplaces,” Mr Pulford said.