Working from home

Our traditional working week has come to be seen as being in the 'office' from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, for a minimum of 40 hours a week. But as nations went into lockdowns around the globe with Covid-19, organisations - both public and private - found ways to maintain services in the face of what was an unprecedented event in our lifetime (Randstad, 2020). We took the office home with us, and worked from there. 

Working from home (WFH) is defined as being the "worker’s own home[...] in which the work is performed. It rules out any non-home-based forms of 'Remote work'"(Holgersen et al., 2021, p. 3). Technology advances - such as Zoom, database access, apps - developed for remote or telework have facilitated more regular WFH arrangements (Karl et al., 2022).

As the pandemic receded, it seems that, for many, our attitude to work has shifted. The space gained during the pandemic meant we had the time to devote to non-financial aspects of our lives, so focused more on family, health and wellbeing (Gee, 2022). And we liked that. With the return to 'normality', our lack of desire for a five day, office-bound working week has not changed. We still desire more flexible work arrangements, with over two thirds (67.8%) of New Zealanders reporting that work location flexibility is important (Randstad, 2023).

There are benefits to be gained from flexible work arrangements. It provides organisations with workplace cover through job-sharing, split shifts, and part-time hours. It allows us more time to look after ourselves and our families, while allowing organisations to gain a wider spread of institutional and cultural knowledge (Noakes, 2022). We save personal cost and time through reduced commuting, while our organisations and society as a whole have the advantage of lower carbon emissions, traffic flows, parking congestion, and road accidents (Beck & Hensher, 2022; Public Service Commission, 2022). We also have lower peak demand for public transport (Public Service Commission, 2024). Staff can fit in personal tasks in breaks when WFH, and experience less stress (Aczel et al., 2021; Beck & Hensher, 2022); which should hopefully mean we have a healthier society overall (MBIE, 2025).

At home, many of us feel more productive due to fewer distractions. We don’t have colleagues swinging by our desks for questions or a chat; so we get more done in less time (Forbes, 2023). We also don't have our managers just popping in to ask us to do additional tasks, leaving us able to focus on our core work. Organisations can lower consumable and energy costs (Noakes, 2021), plus attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce, as - with the tyranny of distance being reduced - the employee pool deepens. Those unable to applied previously for jobs due to location may now apply (Public Service Commission, 2022). If WFH continues, it is conceivable that it may potentially reduce urban sprawl. 

WFH is redefining the traditional 'work day', and the 'working week' due to enabling more of a piece-work approach. Organisations can remain open for longer virtual hours. There are multiple benefits for society through WFH, "improving both wellbeing outcomes for people, and resilience and productivity for our local businesses" (MBIE, 2025).

And all that is something to be celebrated.

Sam

References:

Aczel, B., Kovacs, M., Van Der Lippe, T., & Szaszi, B. (2021). Researchers working from home: Benefits and challenges. PloS One, 16(3), e0249127. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249127

Beck, M. J., & Hensher, D. A. (2022). Working from home in Australia in 2020: Positives, negatives and the potential for future benefits to transport and society. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 158, 271-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.03.016

Forbes. (2023, June 10). Navigating the pros and cons of hybrid and remote work. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glebtsipursky/2023/06/10/navigating-the-pros-and-cons-of-hybrid-and-remote-work/

Gee, S. (2022, May 19). Hybrid work lifestyle may be here to stay post-pandemic. Radio New Zealand [RNZ]. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/467412/hybrid-work-lifestyle-may-be-here-to-stay-post-pandemic

Holgersen, H., Jia, Z., & Svenkerud, S. (2021). Who and how many can work from home? Evidence from task descriptions. Journal for Labour Market Research, 55(1), 4, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.03.016

Karl, K. A., Peluchette, J. V., & Aghakhani, N. (2022). Virtual work meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic: The good, bad, and ugly. Small Group Research, 53(3), 343–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/10464964211015286

MBIE. (2025). Ngā kōrero ohumahi o tō mātou rohe – Our region’s workforce story. Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/regional-skills-leadership-groups/nelson-tasman/regional-workforce-plans/regional-workforce-plan/nga-korero-ohumahi-o-to-matou-rohe-our-regions-workforce-story

Noakes, J. (2022, May). Work from anywhere: Make it work better. Norton Rose Fulbright. https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-au/knowledge/publications/6e56c794/work-from-anywhere-make-it-work-better

Public Service Commission. (2022, September 28). Guidance: Hybrid working part 2: Factors to consider when designing a hybrid work environment. https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/guidance/guidance-hybrid-working/hybrid-working-all-the-detail/factors-to-consider-when-designing-a-hybrid-work-environment

Randstad. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on workers and organisations. https://www.randstad.co.nz/s3fs-media/nz/public/migration/nz-documents/covid-19-report-nz-updated.pdf