Changing face of public sector
Growing numbers of public servants are working from home as part of a massive public sector shake-up.
Fifteen of the country’s 32 public service departments are now offering flexible working arrangements for employees on a trial basis, with the policy intended to be rolled out sector-wide by the end of next year.
The flexible work pilot was announced by Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter in December, and is part of the government’s Gender Pay Action Plan.
It’s hoped the scheme, which requires employers to treat all roles as flexible unless there is a good business reason not to, will help reduce the pay gap between men and women by removing barriers to employment. Flexible working arrangements can include reduced or changeable daily work hours, nine-day fortnights, a gradual return to work following parental leave, phased retirement, purchased annual leave, and working from home.
Seven government agencies were part of the initial trial, with that number more than doubling over the past 12 months.
Dr Paula O’Kane, from the University of Otago’s department of management, said the policy was something New Zealand needed to consider across all sectors. ‘‘Certainly our research would suggest that people are looking for more flexibility. From the future of work perspective, it’s going to become a whole-of-society need.’’
Many skilled employees would probably need to work beyond the retirement age in the future because they could not afford to stop working, and they would not favour a traditional 40-hour week, O’Kane said.
‘‘Millennials, too, are crying out for flexible work. As a society, New Zealand needs to embrace it.’’
There are almost 50,000 fulltime employees across New Zealand’s public service departments, according to a State Services Commission workforce report published last year.
The Privacy Commission said any of those people working from home presented a risk of secure information being compromised.
‘‘When employees working from home interface with an organisation’s information system, it can increase the likelihood of a privacy breach if adequate preventative measures are not in place,’’ a spokesperson said. ‘‘Organisations need to have suitable safeguards.’’
Many of those safeguards should already be standard practice, the spokesperson said.
State Services commissioner Peter Hughes said research showed flexible work helped to retain skilled staff, reduce recruitment costs and lower absenteeism.
There were no figures available on how many workers had taken up alternative working arrangements.
The commission’s report stated the average salary of a public servant was $77,900, with the figure varying significantly among departments. Women made up 61 per cent of the employees, but the gender pay gap remained at 12.2 per cent.
Genter said the Government was on track to roll out the policy sector-wide by the end of next year.
Public Service Association national secretary Kerry Davies said the initiative would help many people. ‘‘Too many of us must choose between jobs that pay well and advance our career, and jobs that allow flexible working arrangements. This disproportionately affects women, Ma¯ ori and Pacific workers.’’
A Ministry for the Environment spokesperson said a large number of its employees had adopted flexible working arrangements.
The results of the Gender Pay Gap 2018-2020 Action Plan are due out before the end of the year.