Largest workforce in country told to return to office in memo from NSW premier's department (2024)

In short:

The premier's department has provided new guidance to government sector employees to work primarily from their office or workplace.

Flexible working arrangements will be upheld and individual agencies have been left to manage their own policies.

The union says it could lead to people looking for jobs elsewhere but the property council says it will held revive commercial centres.

A move to force more NSW public servants back into the office has divided opinions.

Government sector employees have been told they should work "principally" from their on-site workplace, moving away from working from home arrangements.

In a memo circulated on Monday from Premier Chris Minns's department, affected employees were mandated to work primarily in an approved office, workplace or related work site.

The guidance applies predominantly to public servants who can log in to do their job remotely, and does not include frontline workers who are already in the field.

"The NSW public sector is the largest workforce in the country ... the majority of our teams work face-to-face with the community and others fill critical roles to keep our institutions functioning to the highest standards," a letter from the secretary of the premier's department read, explaining the decision.

"This new guidance draws on the experience we bring of working together through the pandemic and through a period of profound natural disasters, all the while striving to serve the community."

Largest workforce in country told to return to office in memo from NSW premier's department (1)

The premier's department said it was not "mandating a particular pattern of attendance" but said that work should be predominantly completed in an "approved workplace".

Individual agencies have been left to develop and implement their own policies.

Flexible working arrangements — including part-time roles, job-shares, compressed hours and varied hours and breaks — will remain in place particularly for people with carer responsibilities and external commitments.

'Less productive'

While the circular did not specify minimum attendance requirements, Mr Minns said full-time employees would be expected to work at least three days in the office.

He said overseas studies showed people were less productive when working from home.

"There is a drop in mentorship. There is less of a sense of joint mission," Mr Minns said.

"This is about building up a culture in the public service."

The premier noted 85 per cent of the state's 40,000 public servants already lacked the option of working from home.

"You can't be a nurse in your tracky dacks in the lounge room, and you can't teach a class in your backyard while you're doing jobs around the house," he said.

'Bold move' or 'thing of the past'?

The Public Service Association (PSA) said it acknowledged that many of its members did not have the option to work from home, but that it had always "fought for flexible working arrangements".

"This includes, where possible, working from home for those whose roles do not rely on them attending a specific site," said general secretary of the PSA, Stewart Little.

"The PSA also understands that some worksites cannot physically accommodate all employees working onsite at any one time."

He said he was concerned pushing people back into the office could lead to loss of staff.

"I don't think anyone in their right mind thinks that we're ever going to return to pre-pandemic ways of work, that's just a thing of the past," he said.

"I think that unless you want to keep staff, attract and retain qualified, specialised staff, then you have to work flexibly."

Largest workforce in country told to return to office in memo from NSW premier's department (2)

State executive director at the Property Council of Australia, Katie Stevenson, welcomed the "bold move", saying it was exactly what cities needed to "thrive".

"This is a game-changer for our CBDs and local centres. More workers means more life, more investment, and more business for our cities," she said.

The council recorded Sydney CBD vacancy rates at a "historically high" 11.6 per cent in their most recent report.

For Parramatta, where there are a number of NSW government offices, the vacancy rate is 19.4 per cent.

"We need vibrant commercial centres every day of the week and the property council has been consistent with its calls for government action to make public servants work from work," Ms Stevenson said.

"Our nurses, teachers, and police can't work from home — there's no good reason why other public sector workers should work under different conditions, almost three years after lockdown."

A town hall event will be held on Tuesday to provide more clarity and details for the employees in question.

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Largest workforce in country told to return to office in memo from NSW premier's department (2024)

FAQs

Largest workforce in country told to return to office in memo from NSW premier's department? ›

In short: A memo from NSW Premier Chris Minns's department has ordered government employees to work primarily from the office. The department's secretary said public service workers who relocated may have to be flexible to comply with the directive.

How many people work for the NSW government? ›

The sector's size and distribution across our state. Over 400,000 employees work in the NSW public sector to deliver a wide range of services to the people of NSW. The sector is divided into 10 operational clusters that coordinate, develop and provide related services and policy.

How many companies are forcing employees back to office? ›

A December Resume Builder poll of 800 business leaders found that 8 in 10 companies will track employee office attendance in 2024. What's more, a whopping 95% of companies said employees will suffer consequences if they don't comply, meaning their jobs, bonuses and salaries could be at risk for employees.

Who is the largest employer in NSW? ›

Hundreds of government jobs in New South Wales are set to be slashed, in the first of several expected restructures of the state's bloated public service. The NSW Government is Australia's largest employer, with a headcount of 453,210 as of 2023. A tenth of people in NSW are employed in some capacity by the government.

What percentage of the workforce is the government? ›

Across the U.S., nearly 24 million people—a little over 15% of the workforce—are involved in military, public, and national service at the local, state and federal levels. Of this number, approximately 16 million are employed in state and local governments.

Why are companies asking employees to return to office? ›

Most companies that announce return-to-office plans want to boost collaboration and create opportunities for connection. When teams work together in an office, they can share ideas spontaneously, without organizing a video call.

How many employees want to return to the office? ›

90% of companies with office space will have returned on-site by the end of 2024, and the majority currently track or will track team members to ensure in-person attendance. In other words, most organizations are trying to bring back their employees to the office.

Why is return to office being pushed? ›

A 'sunk cost' executives don't want to let go of

The sunk cost of unused office space has been a major factor in executives' decisions to introduce stricter RTO requirements even if they prefer to work from home, says Kathy Kacher, a consultant who advises corporate executives on their RTO plans.

How many people work for NSW Police? ›

Today the NSW Police Force has 19,516 employees: 15,633 police officers and 3,883 civilian staff. We operate under the Police Act 1990 and the Police Regulations 2008. The NSW Police Force and, more broadly, the community benefits from our Volunteers in Policing (VIP) Program.

How many federal employees work for the government? ›

U.S. number of government employees1982-2022

In 2022, around 19.23 million people were working for state and local governments in the United States. This is much higher than the number of federal government (civilian) employees, which stood at about 2.87 million people in that year.

How many employees does service NSW have? ›

Our people and culture

We are a diverse team of over 4000 staff working together to provide services that help improve the lives of our 8+ million customers across NSW.

How many staff work for NSW Health? ›

As the largest and busiest public health system in Australia, NSW Health's 228 public hospitals and more than 135,786 full-time equivalent dedicated staff ensure that NSW citizens have continuous access to an extensive range of physical and mental health services.

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