Having the option to work from home (WFH), without the commute and the cost, has proved to be a very popular benefit for many time-strapped employees. 

But until now, this ability to do your job from home has never been enshrined in law. This may be about to change, with Jacinta Allan’s Labor government proposing new legislation that would give employees the right to work from home two days per week.

This is great news for the flexible working arrangements of many hard-working Victorian workers. But what would this legislation mean for your business?

What does the proposed legislation suggest?

Under the legislation proposed by the Victorian State Government, the right to work from home would be made a legal right, available to employees that can work from home.

The Government proposes that:

• All employees have the right to work from home at least two days per week
• Employees would have this right if they can ‘reasonably do your job from home’
• It would apply to both public sector and private sector workers. 

What are the advantages of working from home?

The Allan Government believes there are plenty of advantages to encouraging the move to hybrid working, where workers work both from the workplace and their own home.

The Government’s recent media release states that:

1. WFH is a more flexible way to work. More than a third of Australian workers – including 60% of professionals – regularly work from home.
2. WFH saves families money. It saves Australians on average $110 a week or $5,308 every year, helping families make their dollars go further.
3. WFH cuts congestion. Victorians are now spending less time commuting, saving more than three hours in their week on average.
4. WFH gets more people working. Work from home supports women with children, carers and people with a disability to work.
5. WFH is good for business. Those who work from home work nearly 20% more hours than those who are working in the office full time.

Is WFH good or bad for your business?

Once the COVID pandemic was over, many businesses mandated a ‘return to work’ policy that was at odds with their employees’ desire to continue with hybrid working.

The worry among less enlightened business leaders was that your workforce needed to be in the office or place of work 5 days a week – and that this was the only practical way to manage a team and keep employees productive.

However, most research has shown that employees are happier, more motivated and more productive when allowed at least some time working from home.

80% of survey respondents in a recent survey by the Australian HR Institute expect that hybrid working levels will increase or stay the same in the coming two years.

Increasingly, employees feel that a hybrid mix of working from the office and from home is a standard expectation of their role – and one of their hard-won, work-related benefits. So, what can you do to get the best from hybrid working and WFH?

Here are five key ways to achieve WFH productivity:

1. Build a culture of trust and autonomy: Empower your employees by making it clear that you trust them to manage their own time and workload from home. Don’t micro manage your team. Instead, show respect that will boost their motivation and get good results.
2. Invest in the right technology and tools: Your team will need access to communication and collaboration tools like video conferencing, and messaging platforms like Teams and Slack. They’ll also need project management software to keep workflow organised and efficient.
3. Maintain strong, regular communication: Use scheduled check-ins and team-wide video calls to keep everyone aligned and engaged. This stops solo team members feeling isolated and helps to build and reinforce that feeling of being part of a wider team.
4. Promote a good work-life balance: Encourage all your employees to set boundaries between their work and home life. Respect their non-working hours and make sure everyone has time to rest and recharge, to prevent burnout and poor wellbeing issues.
5. Focus on outputs, not hours: Make sure you judge your employee’s performance on the quality and completion of their work, not on how many hours they’re visibly online. This really helps to reinforce trust and incentivise the whole team to be as productive as possible.

Whether you’re a fan or an opponent of hybrid working and WFH, the reality is that most employees will expect some kind of flexible working from their employer.

Book some time with our team to talk through more strategies for making WFH both a positive and a productive change for your business.