{"id":7718,"date":"2021-01-14T00:08:41","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T00:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.broadagenda.com.au\/?p=8637"},"modified":"2021-01-14T00:08:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T00:08:41","slug":"lessons-on-work-flexibility-from-the-home-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/14\/lessons-on-work-flexibility-from-the-home-front\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons on work flexibility from the home front"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working from home, at least some of the time, looks set to become the new normal\u00a0for many Australians. There is a complex set of rules governing workplaces which varies between each state and territory. But in December the NSW government issued a public health order<\/a> requiring employers to allow employees to work from home (where it is reasonably practicable to do so) will be repealed.<\/p>\n

Employees and employers alike have very quickly adapted to using technology to replicate many aspects of modern working life. Attending meetings, going to conferences, even social events in the workplace have shifted online.<\/p>\n

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A\u00a0recent survey\u00a0of female employees<\/a><\/u> in the NSW public sector revealed that many workplaces became more flexible during COVID-19, and that many of those surveyed wished to retain improved flexibility after the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Employees are happy not to have to commute to work. Employers don\u2019t have to pay onsite costs. It seems like a win-win situation.<\/p>\n

Yet what many workers need is flexibility and working from home won\u2019t necessarily give them that if they still have high workloads, rigid workplace schedules, or strict performance requirements. Or they might have inadequate technological or physical resources or support from their employer to work from home efficiently and effectively.<\/p>\n

Working from home won\u2019t necessarily give employees flexibility if they still have high workloads, rigid workplace schedules, or strict performance requirements<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These challenges are ongoing, particularly for workers with caring responsibilities. This is the group\u00a0most likely to seek flexibility<\/a>\u00a0so they can balance work and care.<\/p>\n

Flexibility might mean starting and finishing work early so parents can collect children from school or working a condensed working week to give them time for care. Others might work from home some of the time, and in the office for the rest.<\/p>\n

Employees have the\u00a0right to request flexible working arrangements<\/a>\u00a0under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth). In Victoria, employers cannot\u00a0unreasonably refuse to accommodate<\/a>\u00a0an employee\u2019s responsibilities as a parent or carer in their working arrangements.<\/p>\n

Our research<\/a>\u00a0is exploring whether workers with caring responsibilities were able to work flexibly during COVID-19.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re examining the forms of flexibility workers needed during COVID-19, and how employers responded to those requests through an\u00a0online survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re also scrutinising existing legal protections, the Fair Work Commission\u2019s response, and\u00a0union proposals<\/a>. We\u2019re looking at whether they adequately protect workers with family responsibilities, how they promote flexibility, and the gaps in the legal response.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re interested in hearing from Australian workers who were balancing work and caring responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

If COVID-19 is the catalyst for more people working from home, we need to ensure that this doesn\u2019t conceal or compound other work practices or conditions that produce inflexible working arrangements.<\/p>\n