One third of public servants working from home at least once a week

Friday, 31 January 2025

Nicola Willis announces plans to make public service employees work from the office.

New Public Service Commission data shows about a third of the public service work from home at least one day a week, and that in one ministry almost 95% of staff do so. However, 55% do not typically work from home, or do so infrequently.

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the data set will help the agency, which is the central public service department which oversees the state sector, “be more transparent and accountable”.

Why it matters

The new data set, released for the first time on Friday, comes after former Public Service Minister, Nicola Willis, directed chief executives in September to stop staff working from home unless they had an arrangement to do so.

Public servants in departments and departmental agencies comprise almost a quarter (23%) of Wellington City’s workforce. Some businesses said ensuring workers were in the city, and not at home, could be “the number one” fix for the capital’s economy help save the many businesses that rely on foot traffic last year.

Willis oversaw widespread reorganisation across the public service, and led a focus on reducing the use of contractors and consultants, in efforts to make savings.

Some businesses hoped a directive to get public servants back in the office would help the economy. (File photo)

By the numbers

Data shows the Ministry for Ethnic Communities had the highest percentage of staff regularly working from home, with almost 95% of the workforce working from home.

At the new Ministry of Regulation, which answers to Regulation Minister David Seymour, 46.9% of staff work from home one day a week. This was followed by the office of Maori-Crown relations at 40.8% of workers, and the Ministry for Women, at 31%.

Nearly 63% of staff at the Inland Revenue Department work from home twice a week, followed by 61% of staff at the Charter School Agency, also set up last year by Seymour, and 57.6% of staff at the Serious Fraud Office.

Government Communications Security Bureau had the highest percentage of staff in the office five days week, with 89.3% never or infrequently working from home, followed by the Department of Corrections (80.2%) and the Education Review Office (74.1%).

Public servants across the sector worked from home an average of 0.9 days a week, and the most common day to work from home was Friday, according to the commission.

Who said what

PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says working from home has many benefits including increased productivity. (File photo)

The Public Service Association labelled the government’s push against public servants working from home as “political and performative”.

“It really showed how performative and politically motivated the government’s claims around working from home were and I just hope now that cool heads can prevail and that working from home can be encouraged and become the default again for whom it can work,” Fleur Fitzsimons, assistant secretary at the association which represents public servants said.

She said working from home arrangements made it easier for women and those with caring responsibilities, chronic illnesses or injuries, in particular to work in the public service.

Kiwi workers, in union survey released in December, also found working from home increased their productivity, Fitzsimmons said. As well as this, many departments had downsized their office space which meant all staff could not return at once.