US President Donald Trump has called time on working from home. An executive order signed on the first day of his presidency this week requires all federal government departments and agencies to: take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person.

Should Australia be following his lead?

The Coalition argues we should, and asserts that ending work from home arrangements for public servants would not disadvantage women. The opposition leader added for women who could not be in the office 5 days a week, there were "plenty of job sharing arrangements".  Is this fair or reasonable policy?

Women's Agenda responds that women make up around 57% of the public sector workforce. There is no evidence suggesting public servants don’t work as hard as their private sector counterparts. According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Coalition’s plan to remove WFH options for public services, along with other recent workplace entitlements, will only worsen the gender pay gap.

Under a pay deal negotiated with the Commonwealth Public Sector Union (CPSU) in July 2023, federal employees have ‘unlimited’ work from home days, with WFH requests only to be refused after “genuinely trying to reach agreement” between a manager and its employee. Currently, public servants are permitted to make flexible work requests, such as the ability to work from home. Agencies are not allowed to force limits on the number of days an employee can work from home per week. They are also encouraged to “lean towards” approving employee requests. 

More than two-thirds of organisations have a formal work-from-home policy. 

Researchers from Australian National University and University of Newcastle have examined the impacts of working from home on staff performance and productivity in Australian workplaces as part of the Australian Workplace Index, surveying 2,932 Australian employees across 2022 and 2024.

The most recent data shows no significant difference in productivity between employees who work from home and those in the office. In fact, the data suggest numerous benefits. For example, staff who worked from home one or more days a week had 9.9% more autonomy in how they carried out their work. Those with higher job autonomy were up to 16.8% more productive in their work when compared to those with low job autonomy. Staff who work from home also save on average 100 minutes in commuting time each day.

In 2024, around 36% of employed Australians worked from home regularly, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is down slightly from the 40% peak during the pandemic.

Among workers aged under 40, a University of Sydney study found that in 2022 men were more likely to work from home than women with 44% of men compared to 38% of women working from home at least some of the time.

Analysis by CEDA  [Committee for Economic Development of Australia] released in 2024, found that in jobs where people could work from home workforce participation increased for women with young children and people with a disability.

WFH works for employers and employees when basic supports are in place. Back during Covid, there weren't the supports, but this has changed.   Productivity and staff satisfaction rates have climbed.

CEDA  has recently reported that Australians are taking a pay cut to work from home. People who value working from home are making a trade-off between their wage and the benefits they see from the arrangement. In short, workers highly value working from home and are willing to forgo some of their wage to do so. CEDA suggests employers can also make a trade-off: choosing either to accept the cost savings from work from home arrangements or to pay a premium to mandate office attendance.

Because the pandemic forced all workers whose occupation could be done from home to do so, this allowed CEDA to separate the impact of working from home from the other individual characteristics of a worker. After accounting for these other factors that can influence a person’s wage, CEDA’s modelling found that since the pandemic, individuals who work from home have experienced 5.8% lower wages than those who do not. This would mean a worker on the average annual pay who works from home would earn around $4400 less than someone who does not.  

CEDA’s results show employers should think twice before issuing blanket return-to-office mandates.  WFH provides greater choice for both employers and employees, allows greater access to the labour market for those who previously faced barriers and alleviates cost pressures for employers. At a time of persistent skill shortages, this is surely a win-win.