Page 1524 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Working from home also means that employees have greater independence over how they choose to do their work, including managing their hours and conditions, their lifestyles and family commitments. Working from home allows individuals to incorporate things like exercise into their work routine more easily, which is pivotal to mental health wellbeing and the reduction of stress overall for an individual.
During this pandemic my team and I have consistently checked in with our constituents to garner feedback and try to understand their issues and concerns as they have arisen. In doing so, we have spoken to a diverse range of individuals, from students, business owners and people who have just lost their jobs to people who have been coping just fine. It has been my pleasure and privilege to be able to reach out to my local community, and to be able to connect with them and empathise with them.
One thing that I have heard time and again has been how much people are loving working from home. In fact, research also shows that most employees highly value working from home, whether it is due to the fact that they will not have to manage a stressful commute, they do not have the stress of working in the office environment or it assists with their responsibilities as carers. Flexible working arrangements have been shown to lead to greater job satisfaction, reduce stress and, ultimately, increase the commitment to an organisation and the overall productivity of that organisation.
I also note that, in today’s age, sadly, women often find that their responsibilities as carers will affect their career aspirations and goals. However, flexible working arrangements have empowered many women to revitalise their careers and find meaningful and practical working solutions, which ultimately leads to better and more balanced family units and happier individuals. If we consider this from an employer’s perspective, it is also noteworthy that the new flexible working arrangements will allow an employer to access a greater talent pool for its employees, which can only be of benefit to our economy overall.
One of the benefits of this motion regarding flexible working arrangements is the opportunity for people to support their local businesses. I have been closely involved with the Canberra Business Chamber throughout my time in the Assembly. Recently, I spoke about the idea of flexible working arrangements with Graham Catt, their CEO, who agreed that the ACT has displayed incredible innovation in transferring to work-from-home arrangements for ACT public servants, as well as other workers in the territory.
If we afford employees more flexibility in how they work, they will, in turn, have more time to go out for a quick lunch or a coffee, or order food in through one of the many food delivery apps that are available to us. During this pandemic we have seen many more restaurants apply to these delivery services. I know from the feedback I receive that many people also take advantage of this service while working from home.
We have wonderful local eateries and restaurants in Canberra. I know from my personal experience of having interacted with so many local businesses that a huge amount of hard work and dedication goes into keeping all of these local businesses
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video