Page 1530 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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indicators and domains were determined based on significant community engagement, so they are a true testament to Canberrans determining what they want from the community in which they live.
The wellbeing indicator domain pertinent to this debate is time—having time to live life well, as quoted by one roundtable participant who summed up this domain very well. The quality of time indicator focuses on the type of time available to individuals as an important factor impacting their sense of control in life. There is a real opportunity for flexible working arrangements to provide individuals with greater control of the time in their lives to produce the outcomes Canberrans want regarding this wellbeing indicator.
Work-life balance is the second indicator in the time domain, and achieving an appropriate balance is vital to many in our community. The third indicator is time spent travelling within Canberra, which acknowledges that commuting is a daily part of life and that its wellbeing impacts will affect a large proportion of the population. The time-saving in commuting is particularly valuable and is an angle the Greens particularly appreciate.
With fewer people travelling to work in vehicles, the less greenhouse gas emissions we have, and that has been one of the benefits of working from home. We have seen across the world during this period that with the reduction of emissions the air cleared and flora and fauna returned to places where pollution had impacted their ability to thrive. So there are multiple benefits to limiting travelling time.
People who spend half an hour or an hour commuting each day—some people spend even more—suddenly have that time back in their lives and they have used it to take up exercise, spend more time with their family or deal with more of their life admin and various other things. Amongst the difficult things that have happened and some of the challenging transitions, the consistent positive I have heard from people is how valuable that additional time has been to them.
The flexibility that working from home affords provides greater space for people to take control of their lives, undertake their work and daily tasks in different ways and juggle activities such as family responsibilities or leisure time. Conflicting responsibilities and commitments can become easier to deal with as a result of working from home. People are granted the possibility to work differently as opposed to less. I am sure that many have found that they may be working slightly more but they are also able to fit in other activities, time with family, housework or even a home-cooked lunch.
Many studies demonstrate that flexible working arrangements improve employee job satisfaction and, in turn, quality of life. Research also shows that time spent on unpaid work like caring and working in a home are gendered, and there is a debate to be had around this aspect of what flexible working arrangements can offer to extend gender equality and provide women, who typically give more time to family and home activities, greater flexibility to conduct and complete their work responsibilities at times that better complement their caring responsibilities.
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