New survey finds 95% of employees in one agency work from home at least once a week
A third of public servants in New Zealand are working from home in the wake of recent government instruction ordering employees to return on-site.
New data from the Public Service Commission (PSC) found that 33% of public servants are working from home either one or two days a week during October and November 2024.
Among those who work remotely, the most common day to work from home is a Friday, with 23%, while the least common weekday for WFH is Wednesday, with 15%.
Overall, 55% of public servants said they do not typically work from home, or only do so infrequently.
On average, public service employees work from home for 0.9 days a week, according to the report.
By agency, the Ministry of Ethnic Communities registered the highest frequency of working from home in the workforce, with 93.5% of employees saying they work from home at least once a week.
This is followed by the Aroturuki Tamariki - Independent Children's Monitor, with 86.2%. Other agencies that reported high frequencies of working from home include:
The survey was carried out less than a month after the New Zealand government issued an instruction for public servants to return onsite.
In its updated guidance on flexible work, the government said it expects: