(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s government is imposing new work-from-home guidance on public servants to get them back to the office each day and arrest a trend that has curbed spending in the largest cities.
The government is taking steps to make this expectation clear to chief executives of departments and state-run agencies, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said in a statement Monday in Wellington.
“Many good employers have been taking active steps to ensure their working from home policies are fit for purpose,” she said. “It’s time the government did the same.”
Working from home has become prevalent across New Zealand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns as employees expected more flexibility with work hours. The downside has been fewer people in the central business districts of major cities, particularly the capital city Wellington, which has rippled through the retail and hospitality industries.
“While carefully defined working from home arrangements can benefit workers and employers, if the pendulum swings too far in favor of working from home, there are downsides for employers and employees,” Willis said. “That’s even before we consider the effects for the CBD retailers, restaurants and cafes.”
Willis has asked the Public Service Commissioner to immediately communicate the government’s expectations to public service chief executives and to issue revised guidance about working from home arrangements.
The guidance will reinforce government expectations that working-from-home arrangements should only be agreed where they will not compromise performance and should be by agreement between the employee and the employer.
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