Public servants stay at home

The streets around Parliament are normally teaming with public servants, scuttling from meetings to lunch dates.

Despite lockdown restrictions easing, children heading back to school and offices reopening, the scores of peak-hour office workers remain noticeably absent from Wellington’s central city.

But the absence of a stampede back to the office hasn’t come as a surprise to Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford. ‘‘I think a lot of office-based employees have adapted to working from home.

‘‘Employers are empathising with their employees because I think there are genuine concerns about coming back into the city.’’

Fear about being in close proximity to others again was also stoking anxiety.

‘‘For instance, [Wellington has] a very high usage of public transport, and people are aware of the restrictions around that.’’

As a result, Milford was predicting ‘‘a slow transition’’ back to working in the office.

The lack of foot traffic was continuing to have an impact on service-based industries including food and beverage outlets and retailers.

Hospitality NZ Wellington branch president Matt McLaughlan said things were yet to return to normal ‘‘in any way, shape, or form’’.

‘‘We’re tracking at about 40 per cent of what we would normally be turning over, which is disappointing and making life very difficult for the industry.’’

Stuff visited a number retail stores in Lambton Quay yesterday, just five days after the Government gave them the all-clear to reopen. But while the lights were on, it’s clear many were still at home.

‘‘Customers seem a wee bit lost when they come in,’’ one retail assistant said.

Another noted that one of her regular customers, aged in her 60s, had said she was giving ‘‘town a wide berth’’ for the foreseeable future.

Shop assistants in another popular gift shop said they had noticed ‘‘a bit of apprehension as people adjusted to the new norm’’ presented by alert level 2.

Others said they were being kept ‘‘extremely busy’’ by online sales and while their regular customers had flocked into the store over the weekend, very few new customers had ventured in.

The lack of customers was only going to exacerbate an already fraught situation for retailers, Milford said. Many government departments were allowing staged returns to the

office, but large swathes of the public service were still opting to work remotely.

One of the big drivers for this was physical distancing — these requirements meant offices were simply unable to accommodate their pre-Covid numbers.

The State Services Commission said it was encouraging agencies to manage the return to the workplace ‘‘gradually’’ with WorkSafe and public health requirements remaining the priority.

‘‘Under alert level 2, alternative ways of working are being encouraged, such as remote working, shift-based working and rotation of staff.

‘‘This will provide greater flexibility for agencies as workers make the gradual return to the workplace,’’ a spokesman said.

While Ka¯inga Ora could have 168 workers in their building, just 27 turned up on Monday — the rest working from home.

The Ministry of Education saw about a quarter of its workforce return to the office, the equivalent of around 450 staff.

Small numbers of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) staff were returning to work, but the ‘‘majority’’ were working from home due to health conditions, family commitments and public transport challenges.

Department of Corrections deputy chief executive Megan Main said most of its 1000 staff members were working remotely.

‘‘The wellbeing of our staff is our top priority, and we are supporting our people to work in the way that is right for their personal situation,’’ Main said.

There was a ‘‘small number of people’’ at its national office, where extra safety precautions were being followed.

‘‘We will continue to regularly review our position in line with guidance from the Ministry of Health and in consultation with our people,’’ Main added.