Working During the Pandemic...The Working during the pandemic research project survey reveals that employees saw many benefits to working from home, for themselves, their families,

CPSU ANALYSIS Working During the Pandemic

Public sector working from home survey: June – July 2020

Community and Public Sector UnionAuthorised & printed by Melissa Donnelly, Community and Public Sector Union (PSU Group) 7/191–199 Thomas St, Haymarket, NSW, 2000.

PUBLIC SECTOR WORKING FROM HOME SURVEY: JUNE – JULY 2020Y

CPSU ANALYSIS - WORKING DURING THE PANDEMIC

ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

A dramatic shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Employees who worked on site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What happened to working hours? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

When did employees perform their work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Benefits to employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Employees want to have the option to work from home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Gender balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Productivity benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Managers support it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

What can agencies do to support staff? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11


1PUBLIC SECTOR WORKING FROM HOME SURVEY: JUNE – JULY 2020

Introduction The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) recently collaborated with researchers Associate Professor Linda Colley, CQUniversity, and Dr Sue Williamson, UNSW Canberra, to undertake a research project, Working during the pandemic, to gather data about the experience of public sector employees working during the COVID-19 crisis .

6377 employees from across the Australian Public Service (APS) and federal public sector, Northern Territory Public Service (NTPS) and ACT Government recently participated in an online survey, conducted between 22 June and 16 July 2020 .

The following provides the CPSU’s analysis of the results, with lessons that may be adopted on future approaches to workplace flexibility and working from home in particular . The results are aggregated across the jurisdictions surveyed . 95% of responses were from the federal public sector .

Melissa DonnellyNational SecretaryCommunity and Public Sector Union

2PUBLIC SECTOR WORKING FROM HOME SURVEY: JUNE – JULY 2020Y


A dramatic shift The COVID-19 crisis necessitated a rapid change in working arrangements, and across the Australian workforce, employers were able to facilitate their employees working from home on a previously unimagined scale . The survey shows that only 31% of respondents had accessed the option to work from home prior to the pandemic . For lower level APS employees, fewer than 15% of respondents had accessed working from home pre-pandemic .

The officially reported figure had 57% of APS staff working from home at the time the survey was taken . That figure has since risen to 64%, as reported on 11 August 2020 . This dramatic shift to home-based work enabled the APS to continue to operate effectively and meet the challenges of the pandemic for the Australian community . The effectiveness of this transformation provides an opportunity to consider future directions and increased access to work from home arrangements .

Employees who worked on site Many APS employees did not have access to working from home arrangements during the pandemic, because they were on the ground in Services Australia supporting Australians to access Job Seeker payments, at airports helping Australians return home in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and the Department of Home Affairs, or performing other critical in-face functions .

However, of the 18% of respondents who said they kept working from a central workplace, 15% said it was because were prevented by their manager, which suggests that some managers’ attitudes remained an obstacle to working from home during the pandemic .

Of those unable to work from home, 14% said it was because they lacked the hardware or technical support . The results support the CPSU’s observation that underinvestment in ICT systems and equipment impacted the ability of some agencies and employees to engage in more widespread remote working arrangements . In Services Australia, for example, remote working arrangements focused on vulnerable employees . In part this has been driven by the limited numbers of “office in a box” available .



What happened to working hours?The majority of survey respondents continued to work their usual hours during the pandemic (65%) . Only 5% of respondents reported working fewer hours, and 1 .5% of respondents reported taking leave . A significant proportion of respondents reported working longer hours than usual (28%) .

The reasons for this included:

� Increased workload (37%) � No commuting time (25%) � Lost track of time (14%) � Difficulties with technology (11%)

We know from anecdotal reports that many APS employees worked very long hours during the pandemic because the APS was at the centre of Australia’s response to COVID-19 . This is borne out in the responses, with 37% of those who worked longer hours doing so because of an increased workload during the period . This reflects the incredible commitment and dedication of the APS workforce and the imperative to deliver for the Australian community, and was particularly pronounced in responses from the Department of Treasury, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Fair Work Commission .

There are potentially important lessons from these responses for employee welfare and productivity . Of those that worked longer hours, 25% did so because they no longer had to commute . It suggests that the employer shares in the benefits of the employee having more time, and that many employees freely dedicate more of their time to their work where they are able . This is also true of the 14% who worked longer hours because they lost track of time .

However, it is important that in future arrangements the Commonwealth as an employer is cognizant of these tendencies and puts in place safeguards against employees working unsociable hours, which may have a detrimental impact on employees’ workplace health and safety and overall health over time, which may ultimately impact productivity .

Of those who worked longer hours, 11% said they needed to because of difficulties with technology . This suggests that where agencies facilitate greater access to working from home in the future, there are further productivity benefits to be gained from investing in supporting ICT .



Of the 5% of respondents that reported working fewer hours, 17% said that it was because of homeschooling during the pandemic . 24% cited other COVID-related issues, and 40% cited other issues, including a directive that they could not accrue flex during the period .

When did employees perform their work?Working from home did not appear to have a significant impact on when the majority of employees performed their work .

� 74% chose to work during their usual work hours � 14% chose to work outside their usual work hours � 5% said they were required to work outside their usual hours due to household obligations

� 6% were required to work outside of their usual hours due to management expectations

These responses suggest that employees continued to prefer to work their regular structured hours and observe usual patterns of work . There does not appear to be a strong appetite to work outside of those patterns .



Benefits to employees Employees identified significant benefits to working from home .

93% 93% gained time from not commuting 62%

62% had more autonomy over when they completed their work

82% 82% had more time for themselves or their family 56%

56% said it enabled them to help with caring responsibilities

64% 64% got more work done than at the office 35%

35% said it enabled them to undertake more complex work

These results reveal some potentially significant impacts on employee well-being . Less time spent commuting and more time for family may facilitate better work/life balance and reduce stress, and allow employees to exercise more and be healthier .

We also know that for most people, job satisfaction is important, and the ability to get more work done, undertake more complex work, and have more autonomy over when work is performed, may contribute to this . These results also suggest that the ability to work from home may improve the quality of work employees are able to produce .

These outcomes explain why the overwhelming majority of respondents wish to have continued access to working from home arrangements .



Employees want to have the option to work from home The CPSU has previously observed a growing interest in working from home as employees look for ways to balance their careers and home lives .

The CPSU What Women Want Survey is conducted biennially and seeks women’s views on a range of issues that affect their working lives . Prior to the pandemic, there had been a year-on-year increase in the percentage of respondents who stated that working from home in normal working hours was important or very important to them:

� 44% in 2011 � 46% in 2013 � 49% in 2015 � 56% in 2017 � 66% in 2019

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

44% 46% 49%

56%

66%

Chart 1: Working from home in normal working hours is important or very important .

These results stem from the increased difficulty that women in particular have reported with balancing work and home life . The experience of working from home during the pandemic appears to have cemented this interest in more flexible working arrangements .



The Working during the pandemic research project survey reveals that employees saw many benefits to working from home, for themselves, their families, and the quality and quantity of the work they were able to produce during the period . There is a strong and widespread view that working from home arrangements should continue to be available .

The survey revealed that in the future, employees wanted ongoing to working from home:

� Some of the time (39%); � Most of the time (30%); � All of the time (11%); or � On occasion (14%)

The factors that were most important in employees’ preferences to work from home in the future were:

� More time for myself/family (94%) � Gain time from not commuting (93%) � Help with caring responsibilities (88%) � Get more work done than in the office (81%) � Have more autonomy over when work is completed (76%) � Undertake more complex work (60%) � Ability to increase part time work hours (55%)

The responses indicate that the ability to work from home has significant benefits for work/life balance, including undertaking caring responsibilities, which still fall disproportionately to women . Respondents also indicated that productivity benefits and the ability to get work done, including more complex tasks, is important to them .

Gender balance The provision of flexible working arrangements, including access to working from home, supports the workforce participation of women and gender equality . It provides greater flexibility for employees to balance work and family lives, to manage school and childcare drop off and pick up, to manage caring responsibilities, and potentially, to share these duties more evenly .



As noted above, a significant proportion of respondents indicated they had more autonomy over when to complete tasks, more time for themselves and their families, and gained time from not commuting . 56% of respondents also indicated that working from home helped them undertake caring responsibilities . 88% of respondents indicated that the ability to help with caring responsibilities was a factor in their preference to work from home into the future .

Expanding access to working from home should play key role in supporting strategies to improve the workforce participation of women, their capacity for future leadership, and greater gender equality .

Productivity benefits Employees reported positive productivity impacts from working from home .

� 64% said they could get more work done at home � 35% said they could undertake more complex work at home

56%

36% � 56% estimated would have higher productivity working from home after the pandemic, and 36% said about the same

Employees’ perceptions that their productivity was maintained or improved while working from home during the pandemic is supported by managers’ observations .

57%

34%

� 34% of managers said their staff were more productive working from home; and 57% said productivity was about the same .



The overwhelming majority of managers therefore observed positive productivity impacts .

Employees did report certain limitations . There were respondents who indicated they were less able to:

� Collaborate with colleagues (24%) � Mentor and coach others (24%) � Maintain professional networks (22%)

These responses indicate that there are certain benefits that accrue to strong relationships supported by some level of face-to-face contact . However, these limitations did not diminish the overwhelming desire of respondents to continue to access working from home arrangements into the future, either some of the time, most of the time, all of the time, or an ad hoc basis . It suggests that employees will balance these considerations, benefits, and limitations and in many cases seek to opt for a blend of working from home and working from the office to capture the benefits of both .

It would be a mistake try to counter these limitations by restricting or mandating a particular approach to working from home arrangements, which would likely mitigate the benefits that stem from increased autonomy and flexibility for employees . The results suggest that employees are able to balance the benefits and limitations and opt for arrangements that enable them to deliver for the agency and support their own development .



Managers support itA significant proportion of respondents (26%) have responsibility for managing staff, and the survey results provide a very useful insight into managers’ experiences and attitudes towards working from home . As highlighted previously, managers saw positive productivity impacts from their teams working from home . The survey results also reveal a very significant shift in managers’ attitudes towards working from home during the pandemic, and their willingness to approve work from home arrangements into the future . Of the managers who responded:

37%

27%

33%

� 37% said they were much more likely to approve working from home arrangements after the pandemic

� 27% were somewhat more likely � 33% were about the same

This reflects the positive experience that managers have had supervising their teams during the pandemic and observations about their teams’ productivity and output . However, despite this very significant shift in attitude, employees continue to think that their agency and managers are less supportive of working from home arrangements than the managers’ responses indicate .

� 35% of respondents said their agency does not support flexible working arrangements

� 20% said that their supervisor does not support flexible working arrangements

This suggests that agencies could be doing more to codify better practices around working from home in new or revised policies, and engage staff and their representatives in this process .



What can agencies do to support staff?Respondents were able to provide feedback on the things their agency could do to better support employees working from home . Many respondents reported that their agency was already doing a good job and they felt well supported .

There were some clear themes in the free-text response, with respondents looking to see improvements in the following areas:

Technology – including improved connectivity, and the provision of laptops, mouse, keyboard, extra screens and so on .

Ergonomic equipment – such as appropriate chairs and desks .

Active support for cultural change – respondents indicated that they believed agencies should play a leadership role to promote cultural change, making work from home normal, and promoting the benefits for employees and employers .

Fairness and equity – respondents indicated that there should be clear principles applying to work from home arrangements in a visible and transparent policy, and that the principles should be applied equitably across the organisation .

Approval requests – respondents indicated that they wanted to see agencies act on the lessons of working from home during the pandemic and approve requests without overcomplicating the issue .

Recommendation These results confirm what employees have been saying: employees should have continued access to working from home, and there are real benefits for employees and for agencies . If the benefits of changes from the last few months are not going to be lost, agencies need to move now to agree better work from home policies and practices, and involve employees and their representatives in those discussions so that there is visibility of the shift in attitudes that are already taking place .

Documents

Working During the Pandemic...The Working during the pandemic research project survey reveals that employees saw many benefits to working from home, for themselves, their families,