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Dear Jewel

Thank you for your OIA request to Hon Nicola Willis, Minister for the Public Service requesting:

"- You state 'Updated guidance for the public service will make clear that working from home is not an entitlement and must be agreed and monitored.' If flexibility is mentioned as an option and possibility in the Collective Agreement, does this mean everything else mentioned in the Collective Agreement is also 'not an entitlement' of government working kaimahi? A common definition of 'entitlement' is the fact of having a right to something. So do all government kaimahi have also no entitlement / right to anything else mentioned in their Collective Agreement, including their income?
- You state, 'While carefully defined working from home arrangements can benefit workers and employers, if the pendulum swings too far in favour of working from home, there are downsides for employers and employees. That's even before we consider the effects for the CBD retailers, restaurants and cafes.' Where have you noticed the pendulum swinging too far? What explicit examples are there in government departments that working from home has caused a compromise to the performance of employees and agency objectives?
- You state that, 'Data is not currently being centrally collected by the Public Service Commission regarding the prevalence of working from home arrangements.' If data is not being collected by PSC for the prevalence of working from home, where are you getting your data from for said prevalence to make an announcement such as the new work-from-home guidance for public service? And, if there is currently no data being collected, wouldn't a better option to have been to record prevalence before making changes to see if said changes were actually necessary?
- You state, 'agencies must actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements, and be able to regularly report to the Public Service Commission about the number and nature of the agreements they have in place.' How are you suggesting that agencies actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements? Or are you expecting that the idea of what monitoring means should be decided by the Leaders/ Managers? What will be done to avoid micromanagement and lack of understanding and flexibility from managers/leaders, including what impact this can have on their mental health and work relationship?"

The Minister is considering your request, and you can expect a response by 23 October 2024.

Kind regards

Misty Mossman
Private Secretary (Public Service) | Office of Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance
Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Social Investment
Associate Minister of Climate Change

M: 021 196 6033
E: [email address]
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Jewel <[FOI #28519 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2024 10:43 AM
To: Nicola Willis (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - New work-from-home guidance for public service

Dear Nicola Willis,

Under the Official Information Act I would like to request the below:
- You state 'Updated guidance for the public service will make clear that working from home is not an entitlement and must be agreed and monitored.' If flexibility is mentioned as an option and possibility in the Collective Agreement, does this mean everything else mentioned in the Collective Agreement is also 'not an entitlement' of government working kaimahi? A common definition of 'entitlement' is the fact of having a right to something. So do all government kaimahi have also no entitlement / right to anything else mentioned in their Collective Agreement, including their income?
- You state, 'While carefully defined working from home arrangements can benefit workers and employers, if the pendulum swings too far in favour of working from home, there are downsides for employers and employees. That's even before we consider the effects for the CBD retailers, restaurants and cafes.' Where have you noticed the pendulum swinging too far? What explicit examples are there in government departments that working from home has caused a compromise to the performance of employees and agency objectives?
- You state that, 'Data is not currently being centrally collected by the Public Service Commission regarding the prevalence of working from home arrangements.' If data is not being collected by PSC for the prevalence of working from home, where are you getting your data from for said prevalence to make an announcement such as the new work-from-home guidance for public service? And, if there is currently no data being collected, wouldn't a better option to have been to record prevalence before making changes to see if said changes were actually necessary?
- You state, 'agencies must actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements, and be able to regularly report to the Public Service Commission about the number and nature of the agreements they have in place.' How are you suggesting that agencies actively monitor the prevalence and impact of working from home agreements? Or are you expecting that the idea of what monitoring means should be decided by the Leaders/ Managers? What will be done to avoid micromanagement and lack of understanding and flexibility from managers/leaders, including what impact this can have on their mental health and work relationship?

Yours faithfully,

Jewel Weekes

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