'We do know that happy workers tend to be more productive'
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson has expressed support for working from home as he recognised its positive impact on workers' productivity.
Wilson said that it's not up to him to dictate workplace arrangements between employers and employees.
"If employers can find a pathway and employees can find a pathway together in partnership for working from home because it works in their best interests, then that would always be the baseline on which I'd approach workplace arrangements," he told Sky News on Sunday.
"They have to be managed in terms of the productivity challenges that workplaces need to meet and then how they're going to make sure they go through and meet the expectations."
Wilson's comments come after the Coalition announced and then was forced to drop a return to work policy for public servants during the federal election following strong criticism.
Wilson said the election policy put forward was in the context of public servants.
"It was probably interpreted as a heavy solution to what should be, for the most part, a productivity-managed problem between employers and employees," he said.
According to Wilson, they could have made it clear that the policy was to address a productivity challenge.
"We want to make sure that Australians are getting the best value for their taxpayer dollars. I don't think any of that fundamentally has changed from our standpoint," he stated.
However, it seemed unlikely that the Coalition would revisit the proposal again as Wilson underscored its benefits for workers.
"I'm not going to box myself in and say we've got one specifically around that because we do know that happy workers tend to be more productive," he said. "There are certainly circumstances where people working from home can be more productive than they might otherwise be because of commute times, because of their capacity to balance out their work and family lives based on what their needs are."
The Productivity Commission recently released a report clarifying that hybrid work arrangements are "not detrimental" to productivity.
It also noted that the arrangement enables improved worker satisfaction, reduced breaks and sick days, fewer distractions, as well as the production of a higher quantity and novelty of output.
