“All government sector employees pay a role in building and replenishing public institutions. That requires us all to have a sense of belonging to our organisations and our teams, to understand our part in broader service delivery, to build trusted networks with others outside our immediate teams and to pass on our expertise and support to colleagues, particularly those earlier in their careers who benefit from mentoring and on-the-job learning… The more our experience of work is shared, the more united we become. That means being physically present in our organisations.”
Last week’s Premier’s Department circular on expectations of office engagement by NSW Government employees sounds reasonable.
Who gets to define the hybrid space in between zero and five days a week in the office was three peppers HOT in the comments section of most news outlets last week.
Costs of transport and family care are a big factor in these discussions. And rightly so.
At the level of human intuition the long term benefits for people of several days a week in a shared location as part of most types of team are beyond contest.
Equally, most organisations would face uncertain futures without that equilibrium.
Hat tip to our NSW team for their thoughtful advocacy on the matter.
Premier Minns would seem to have swung the balance back to the centre for now.
Vale Terry Snow AM
Few people have shaped an important Australian city for the better this century.
Terry Snow did.
The news of Terry’s passing earlier this month was met with great sadness in Canberra and the wider property industry.
He was a great Australian and a legendary contributor to his local community.
His legacy was also that of a generous philanthropy and an ethos of excellence that we can all aspire to.
As ACT President Phil O’Brien rightly summarised last week, “no one has made a bigger contribution to Canberra than Terry.”
True that. Vale Terry.
Next week – Industrial productivity