3 days ago
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Nicholas Burch doesn’t care whether his employees come into the office or not. To him, location is irrelevant.
The director of Melbourne law firm Burch & Co isn’t a fan of workplace mandates. He prefers to let his 20 employees decide where they work – and when they get their work done.
Nicholas Burch says his law firm has become more profitable since embracing flexible work.Credit:
“All that I care about is that they get their work done and that they are accountable to their team,” Burch says. “Having said that, the more we have invested in the flexibility of our employees, the more profitable we have become.”
Burch set up the law firm nine years ago, setting out to build a workplace that trusted its people enough to let them choose what worked for them. He says the decision allows him effectively to co-parent with his wife, who also works full-time.
“If you can’t trust your employees in our field of work to get the work done on time, no matter where they are, then there’s a bigger cultural issue at play.”
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WFH here to stay
Removing work-from-home rights is proving outrageously unpopular among Australians. Then-opposition leader Peter Dutton spectacularly lost the last federal election amid scathing voter feedback after trying to force public servants back to the office full-time.
Even so, Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece still hoped the Victorian government would take a tougher stance on public servant attendance in the office, with the aim of lifting foot traffic in town.
Reece recently told media that counts of foot traffic showed daily attendance was, on average, 61 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, which was affecting the city’s daytime economy.
But instead of siding with Reece, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan will enshrine in law the right to work from home for a minimum of two days a week.
Under a proposed bill to be introduced to the Victorian state parliament next year, workers in both the public and private sectors who can reasonably do their jobs from home will have the right to do so at least two days a week.
Allan says working from home supports families and the economy. “One of the reasons work from home is at risk is because there are no rules – and workers don’t know where they stand,” she says. “If you can do your job from home, we are making it your right.”
Meanwhile, some corporate giants, including the National Australia Bank, are pushing for an office-based working model, prompting some members of their staff to threaten quitting. Earlier this year, Amazon and Dell also ordered staff back to the office five days a week, while Woolworths wants its 10,000 office-based workers back in the office from next month.
Falling out of favour
Brydie McDonald, 28, says that she is “not interested in being full-time in an office”.Credit:
Office mandates aren’t popular with young workers such as Brydie McDonald, 28. She started her first job five years ago, landing an internship out of university at the outset of the pandemic, which forced her to work from home.
These days, McDonald works for a digital marketing company two days a week from home and three days from the office. It is the perfect balance for her, offering flexibility to leave early a couple of days a week to coach gymnastics.
“The hybrid option works really well for me,” she says, “and I’m not interested in being full-time in an office.”
Workplaces decide
Regardless of what the government mandates, most employers plan to maintain their current work arrangements for the next 12 months.
Robert Half research shows 71 per cent of employers plan to continue allowing work from home in some capacity, citing an uplift in employee satisfaction and productivity.
In fact, Robert Half director Andrew Brushfield says the period of intense uncertainty and constant change around office mandates has settled for the vast majority of businesses.
“The predominant choice is a hybrid model, which is no longer seen as a temporary fix but as a strategic standard that balances in-person collaboration with the demand for flexible work,” he says.
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