Over a third of employed people in Australia usually work from home for at least part of the week. For employees in jobs where it is possible to work remotely working from home has become an established working arrangement. However, some employers are seeking to wind back workers’ access to working from home arrangements.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is considering including a work from home clause in modern awards. If this happens the work from home clause will apply to all workers covered by an award.
We provided expert evidence in a work from home test case in the FWC, and Senior Researcher Lisa Heap appeared in a hearing to explain our research findings.
In our expert report we expanded on our earlier research investigating who works from home and why, who benefits from working from home arrangements, and why some employers want workers back in the office. In our expert report we also examined the international evidence relating to provisions on work from home arrangements in industrial laws.
We found working from home for at least part of the week supports job satisfaction, individual performance, and fuller participation in paid work.
- Working from home benefits organisations and contributes to more inclusive and gender-equal workforce participation and a more productive economy.
- Access to work from home is not currently available to all employees who would like access, and who could work from home.
- Common objections to work from home arrangements, such as it reduces productivity, appear to be ill-founded.
- Women with young children, carers, and workers with a disability or health condition, particularly benefit from working from home arrangements.
- The right to work from home should apply to all employees. This helps to ‘normalise’ working from home, ensures there is no ‘stigma’ or detriment if a worker works from home, and promote more equitable work and care arrangements.
One of the key reasons workers’ want to work from is costs, in terms of money and time, of transport to and from work, particularly for those who commute long distances to work. In the current economic environment working from home can help to alleviate these cost pressures.