ACT public servants tell researchers they need a good reason to work from the office

Public servants are also concerned they are being encouraged to work through personal or family illness because they have the capability to work from home.

But staff strongly support flexible working arrangements, giving them the choice of when and where they work.

And the majority of workers rarely attend the office, with 52 per cent going less than once per week.

Less than half of workers surveyed in the Chief Minister, Treasury Economic Development, Justice and Community Safety and Education Directorates accessed their offices at least one day a week.

The workers surveyed for the Australian New Zealand School of Government report said access to working from home had been conducive to productivity.

An assessment of computer usage patterns also showed the shift to remote work in the ACT public service had led to a longer span of hours each day workers were considered to be digitally active.

The span of the work day grew from 6.3 hours in 2019, Microsoft software usage metadata showed, to 7.6 hours in 2021.

"The differences in quantity of hours may partly reflect different levels of [Microsoft] 365 utilisation between the two years; however, the distribution of these hours suggest changes in the scheduling of work and may also reflect increases in the quantity of hours worked," the research report said.

The report said qualitative data showed working from home contributed to work spilling over into private time for some staff due to poor boundaries around work and unrealistic expectations on staff availability.

"Microsoft 365 data showed that lower-level employees with no supervisory or managerial responsibilities are more likely to work excessive hours than managers," the report said.

Employees under 30 and over 50 reported they preferred to work from the office, to avoid feelings of social isolation and see people. But researchers found all employees desired choice in the location and timing of work.

"Although most research participants reported enjoying the social aspects of periodic office attendance, there was resistance to mandatory weekly attendance, on arbitrarily assigned days, with many questioning the value or purpose of attending the office when working productively at home," the report said.

"This was particularly when office days primarily consist of independent, desktop-based working; the type of work perceived to be more suitable when working from home."

The adoption of activity-based working environments - which do not have assigned desks for staff - discouraged people from working in the office, the researchers were told.

"Key points of complaint include inefficiencies in setting desk space up and packing down, difficulty finding people in rotational desks, and high levels of noise due to lack of sound barriers around desks or around informal meeting areas including kitchens," the report said.

The report said a potential downside to activity-based working included greater distractions, reducing workers' performance, productivity and engagement.

The ACT government's city office, on London Circuit, can accommodate approximately 60 per cent of its workforce.

The report found flexible working arrangements would be a key way to retain staff in the ACT public service, with younger staff saying they would be likely to stay longer in the service, and older staff saying flexible work had led them to consider staying longer than they had planned.

"These findings highlight that continued support for flexible working, with employees having greater choice in where and when they work to meet personal preferences and work demands is central to the ACTPS employee value proposition," the report said.

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The report, prepared by the University of NSW Canberra public service research group, was compiled from information gathered in focus groups and from de-identified data collected at building entry points, meeting room booking information and computer use metadata. The data was collected between December 2021 and June 2022.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr last year declared the era of in-office 9-to-5 work was over for the ACT's public servants, arguing flexible work would be a key way to attract and retain quality staff.

"That is the case for all major businesses in this country as well and even the Commonwealth are allowing a degree of flexibility for their own public servants as well. The world has changed. The future of work has changed and we must be flexible and allow for hybrid working arrangements," Mr Barr said in December 2021.

The territory government in March told an Assembly inquiry into the future of the working week that a four-day working week for public servants could also be used to attract staff to its public service.

"A four-day working week gives time back to people, which can reduce work-induced stress and related consequences, potentially impacting the societal rising cases of anxiety and depression, loss of sleep, poor dietary and exercise habits as well as child health, wellbeing, and behaviour," the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate said.

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