As WFH returns to the agenda, leadership matters most

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stopped short of recommending working from home as a way to reduce petrol use, rising fuel costs and concerns over shortages have brought the issue back into public discussion, writes Alice Burks.

Alice Burks, director of people success at global HR platform Deel, said Australian businesses should use this moment to rethink how remote work is led, not simply where work happens.

“COVID demonstrated that working from home can give companies and economies vital contingency and strategic flexibility, a lesson that may soon be tested again,” Burks said.

Deel is one of the world’s largest remote-first companies, with more than 7,000 employees working in over 100 countries.

Burks leads people strategy for the business and works daily on making remote work effective at scale. “When it’s done well, it supports productivity, flexibility and even talent attraction resilience at the same time,” she said.

“Yet, working from home, if poorly led, exposes weak systems and unclear expectations.”

Burks believes the renewed interest in working from home should shift the debate away from convenience and focus on leadership fundamentals.

“Remote work doesn’t fail because people aren’t in the office,” she said. “It fails when leaders rely on visibility instead of results, assumption over clarity, or control instead of trust. These can all appear as tensions in a physical office environment, and they can be amplified in a remote setting. Distance doesn’t create problems, but it does reveal them.”

According to Burks, successful working-from-home arrangements share several common features.

“High-performing remote teams focus on outcomes, not hours. Clear goals and accountability matter more than presenteeism. Trust replaces surveillance, allowing people to focus on delivering results rather than being monitored,” Burks said.

“Clarity is also critical. Documented processes, clear expectations and regular check-ins (even through simple messages) matter more in remote settings than physical proximity ever did. Connection must be intentional, with teams creating dedicated touchpoints for informal conversation, to avoid isolation.

“Boundaries matter too, as working from home can blur the line between work and life. The structure of a day will be different in a home setting, versus going to an office – new rituals must be built in response.”

Burks said the current fuel pressures highlight a broader opportunity.

“This isn’t just about saving fuel or avoiding traffic,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity to rethink how work gets done and build organisations that are more resilient to economic and cost-of-living pressures.” She added that the question is no longer whether working from home works, but whether organisations are willing to lead differently to make it work well.

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