Coalition goes from trying to ban WFH to encouraging it

In a spectacular turn of events off the back of a devastating election loss, a Coalition frontbencher has lodged his support behind working-from-home arrangements.

Coalition frontbencher Andrew Bragg has thrown his support behind working-from-home arrangements, highlighting a massive shift in policy stance from the beginning of the party’s federal election campaign.

Back in March, during the federal election campaign, the Coalition wholeheartedly embraced the Trump-esque crackdown on working-from-home (WFH) arrangements, proposing mandates for public sector workers to operate out of their workplace five days a week.

At the time, shadow minister for public service Jane Hume argued that the current Albanese government gave public servants “a blank cheque” to work from home.

“This government has given public servants a blank cheque to work from home,” said Hume

“Led by the Community and Public Sector Union, Labor has made work from home a right for the individual, not an arrangement that works for all.”

The Coalition was whacked with raucous backlash for this proposal, forcing it to backflip on the policy – marking it as one of its key mistakes on the campaign trail. Speaking on the backflip at the time, former Coalition party leader Peter Dutton told Nine: “We’re listening to what people have to say. We’ve made a mistake in relation to the policy. We apologise for that.”

Now, after what was described as an embarrassing election result, the Coalition has gone full reversal on its stance, with Bragg announcing that his party will support workers’ right to flexibility.

Bragg referenced the recent results from the Productivity Commission’s report on WFH, which found that the overarching finding had an impact on workers’ productivity when WFH was either neutral or positive.

“Identifying the aggregate effects of increased working from home on economy-wide labour productivity is difficult because these effects are hard to isolate from other changes that may have affected the economy at the same time,” said the report.

“The evidence on working from home is still evolving. However, given most studies find hybrid work to be either neutral or positive for labour productivity, there is no evidence to suggest that the trend towards hybrid working has contributed to the productivity loss phase of the productivity bubble.”

Speaking on the data, according to News.com.au, Bragg said: “In fact, most of the evidence comes down to support the proposition that working from home on a hybrid basis actually is good for people, good for the economy.”

“As I say, we’re into individual agency, we want to help families, we want to help individuals, and this is, in many cases, the best outcome for people.”

Although Bragg supported WFH, he expressed that the hybrid working arrangement that balances the office and flexibility was a great benefit.

“There’s a big benefit in getting around the water cooler and having a debate or a discussion about some challenges the business is trying to solve, but when people want to do some deep work, deep thinking, deep reading, often that is better done at home, not in an open plan office,” said Bragg.

The change in stance highlights how workplace flexibility has morphed into a non-negotiable for many Australians, regardless of their line of work.

“The backlash to mandatory office returns shows just how much employees now value the flexibility they’ve gained,” said Damien Andreasen, vice president of HiBob APJ.

“Whether it’s concerning the public service or the wider Australian workforce, it’s becoming increasingly clear the future of work lies in flexibility, and policies that ignore that are simply out of touch.”