Latest news with #workingfromhome
CTV News
03-08-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Australian state seeks to enshrine work from home in law
The Australian state of Victoria plans to enshrine working from home in law. SYDNEY, Australia — The premier of the Australian state of Victoria announced Saturday plans to enshrine working from home in law, saying it should be 'a right, not a request'. Under Jacinta Allan's plan, workers would be entitled to work from home at least two days per week, if the job allows. 'We're doing that because we know what the evidence tells us -- workers are more productive, it saves time for families, it saves money for families,' Allan said, launching the proposed policy at the Labor Party's state conference. 'This change will mean that any worker who can reasonably do their job from home has the right to do so for at least two days a week.' Allan said the policy would now go out for consultation with workers, employers and unions. She said it was important to 'get the details of this important change right'. Allan said the move could save the average worker $110 a week, cut congestion on roads, and keep more women in the workforce. During national elections in May, the opposition Liberal-National coalition's plan to eliminate remote work was partly blamed for its poor performance. Victoria's opposition leader, Brad Battin, said work from home arrangements had been valuable, and that he supported measures that promote better work-life balance. The measure is likely to come before the state parliament next year.
Daily Mail
28-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
What a surprise! Seven in ten civil servants say working from home has a ‘positive impact' on Whitehall
Most civil servants think working from home has had a positive impact, new polling has revealed. Officials claim remote working has even improved public sector productivity as well as their own job satisfaction. And many believe they should be allowed to WFH as much as they like, with not one of those questioned by YouGov thinking they should be forced back to their desks full-time. Their insistence on the benefits of working from home comes despite both Tory and Labour ministers demanding that all civil servants come back to the office at least three days a week for the sake of team-building and mentoring new recruits. John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It will come as no surprise how much civil servants love the work from home culture that has spread across Whitehall. 'But these attitudes are completely at odds with the views of British taxpayers, who are absolutely fed up with the shockingly poor productivity levels of the UK's bureaucracy. 'Senior mandarins should care more about the users and consumers of public services - taxpayers - than the comfort of pen-pushers. That means getting them back to the office.' YouGov questioned 101 civil servants in middle-management or senior roles and found that three-quarters (75 per cent) believe remote working has been good for their own departments, and almost as many (70 per cent) say the same about Whitehall in general. Almost four in five (78 per cent) think wfh has boosted productivity while even more (85 per cent) say it had improved employee satisfaction. At least half say the culture that took hold during the pandemic has had a positive impact on public service delivery (58 per cent), policy development (50) and communication (50). However only one in four (28 per cent) think wfh has been good for performance management with almost as many (25) saying the opposite. Half (50 per cent) of those quizzed said that 'mandating one or two days in the office a week made the most sense' with only one in five backing the existing policy of requiring staff to be present three or more days a week. In addition, 'none supported demanding everyone turn up every day' while three in ten 'feel the most appropriate policy is to allow all civil servants to work from home as much as they want', YouGov said. Overall six in ten (59 per cent) civil servants questioned feel the Whitehall machine is performing well, with only one in three (33 per cent) say it is working badly. By comparison, when pollsters asked MPs the same question only four in ten (40 per cent) had a positive view of the civil service. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer .
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Kirstie Allsopp launches another scathing attack on working from home and says it 'has to stop' as it's 'destroying young people's mental health'
Kirstie Allsopp has launched another scathing attack on working from home and claimed it's 'destroying' young people's mental health. The London-born Location Location Location host, 53, took to X/Twitter on Monday morning to declare that 'working from home s***' has 'to stop'. She said that she herself has 'always' needed to travel for work, from commuting to an office, being out and about to view properties, or travelling long distances across the country for filming. Kirstie has previously made her opinion clear about non-office working, including sharing a picture of an empty Tube carriage on a weekday morning earlier this month, and warning 'it can't be a good thing'. Today, she reinforced her anti-WFH stance as she took to social media to slam working from home, especially for young people who aren't being given crucial experience of 'real life colleagues, office politics, socialising after work'. Kirstie said: 'This working from home S*** has to stop, it's destroying mental health for millions of young people, and forcing many others to spend far more on housing just for the extra office space. 'It may suit middle class, middle aged, middle management, it does not suit most young people. 'For every older person who loves working from home there's a younger person who has no experience of real life colleagues, office politics, socialising after work, or having to deal with adverse situations while away from home.' Kirstie is best known for fronting property shows on Channel 4 such as Location Location Location and Love It Or List It alongside her co-host Phil Spencer. The property guru's post met with mixed reactions after racking up more than 300,000 views in mere hours. One person said: 'I think this is a pretty wild claim to make without evidence? Huge numbers of people find WFH beneficial for their mental health'. But Kirstie simply replied: 'AND huge numbers don't!' When one person queried: 'Where's your office?', Kirstie responded: 'I have also ALWAYS had to travel for work, either to an office for 6 years, or in and out all day going to see properties or long distances across the country for filming.' Responding to criticisms, she added: 'I know that many young people are negatively impacted by working from home & that there's a fundamental unfairness in that those who work the hardest, for the lowest wages, rarely have the choice to WFH. 'FFS This is just pathetic, I never said 'get rid' of working from home. The issue is that it is forced on many and that negatively impacts young people. We've have the highest WFH in Europe, why? It's hardly as if we are the biggest country.' Many agreed with Kirstie's statement, writing: 'Absolutely luckily my two eldest children have London jobs and both go in every day. Would be miserable for them to be at home and where do they learn work social skills if stuck in their rooms!'; The Location Location Location host, 53, took to X/Twitter on Monday morning to declare that 'working from home s***' has 'to stop' 'Caused the downfall of so many cafes, pubs etc too.'; 'There's plenty of Middle Agers not enjoying it also Add in having to keep your lights & heating on 24/7 in colder/darker months!'; 'Attractive for some but not for all. Those about to embark on their careers age 18 onward. Sitting in their bedrooms of their parents homes. Staring at a screen. I remember being 18. First job in London in the 90s. Drinks after work. They need to socialise'; 'Working from home is one of those things that seems attractive at face value, but brings subtle and diverse drawbacks. Aside from its effect on teamwork, it is de-socialising. My pension-age part-time job keeps me sharper. I meet new people. I'm going to a staff event. All good.' But others were more sceptical, writing: 'I'd rather not spend several hours per day commuting thanks'; 'That's nonsense Kirstie and you know it. Working from home is flexibility. A laptop at the kitchen table is far less expensive than a commute.' Kirstie has previously sparked strong views about working from home - with her tweet sparking a mixed response. Earlier this month, Kirstie posted a photo of a 'totally empty tube carriage' on a Central Line train on X, formerly known as Twitter, and captioned the post: 'Don't quite know what it says but it can't be a good thing.' The property guru's post met with mixed reactions after racking up more than 300,000 views in mere hours In the comments section, she said the photo was taken after Mile End station, with the train heading east. The presenter's tweet quickly went viral, with more than five million views and 1,300 comments. Several X users pointed out that Kirstie had missed rush hour and most Londoners were probably already at their desks by the time she boarded the train at 9.20am. One comment read: 'It's 9.20, most people start work at 9am. Plus you're going the opposite way to the majority going into work.' Another X user agreed, adding that Central Line trains from Mile End were 'packed like sardines' at 7.30am. 'You clearly have never worked in the City. I would have done two hours of work at my desk by that time.' Another quipped: '[The photo says] No one was late for work?' 'Kirstie most people have jobs,' one comment read. However, her tweet backfired as X users pointed out that 'most people were already at work' by the time the Location, Location, Location presenter took the train at 9.20am on a Tuesday morning Several others suggested lots of people were likely working from home on the hottest day of the year, as temperatures in London rose to 34.7C on July 1. However, others noted that it showed a marked lack of tourists. BBC Radio 4 presenter David Aaronovitch replied asking: 'Too hot?' In response, Kirstie listed all those who don't have the privilege of working from home, writing: 'Not for me or our crew, or police officers, or nurses, supermarket workers, or cabbies, and all the other people who don't get paid to work from home or don't take days off when it's bloody uncomfortable.' Another X user listed all the possible reasons the carriage was empty, adding factors like 'annual leave' and the fact that lots of people 'walk/get the bus when it's hot' because the Central Line doesn't have air conditioning. 'What's even the implication here?' one person questioned Kirstie's tweet. 'Can it not just be a coincidence? You've already got several factors that would mean fewer people - the time, the direction, the location - why read anything more into it?' Her tweet, which has over 1,300 comments at the time of writing, drew mixed reactions Some, however, appeared to agree with the broadcaster as one X user replied: 'Working from home has killed all the sectors that support city life. 'Serious consequences for the economy.' After her tweet blew up online, Kirstie reposted some of the nastier messages she'd received in response as the broadcaster noted 'Twitter just isn't fun anymore' while condeming the 'constant abuse' she endured online. Replying to one X user who questioned whether Kirstie 'ever had a proper job', she said 'I'll take no lectures on not understanding the world of work' after having taken the Tube to work every day for five years. She also pointed out 'there are many reasons an empty Tube' is a worrying economical sign, questioning why there were no tourists or people who work weekends 'having Tuesday off and going to Stratford'. When someone suggested Kirstie, who is the eldest daughter of the late Lord Charles Hindlip, 'wouldn't know that' most people get to work before 9am, she replied the debate was 'not worth it anymore'. Kirstie's post comes after the TV host revealed how she once received a random FaceTime from an ex-househunter she had helped on Location, Location, Location. The property broadcaster, 53, starred on 25 Years of Location, Location, Location with her co-host and longtime friend, Phil Spencer, 55, in May. The pair were discussing some of the couples they had helped since the Channel 4 programme first aired in 2000. In this time, Kirstie and Phil have carried out 469 searches, viewed 1,810 homes and been trusted with more than £176,000,000 of money from house hunters. Kirstie reflected on the episode where she attempted to find Ruth and Anna a flat the week after the Brexit result. The sisters ended up losing out on the property due to the level of uncertainty that came with leaving the European Union. However, Kirstie divulged that she actually negotiated the apartment they bought a year after they starred on the show, in 2017. She said: 'We lost out on the property we ended up bidding on, a year later I negotiated the purchase of the flat that they finally bought. I always remember that because I always say to everyone don't forget, we're always there for you.' Kirstie then revealed that every home buyer that goes on the show has her and Phil's personal mobile numbers - and she once received an unexpected drunk call from a past Location, Location, Location participant. She said: 'Our househunters have our telephone number. I always say 'Don't call when drunk!'' But being able to call the hosts at any time appears to get you brownie points in your friendship group - and one intoxicated ex-participant decided to put it to the test. Kirstie said: 'It doesn't always happen, but someone did call me once from the races, FaceTimed me [and said] 'Look here I am I wanted to prove to everyone that I had your number''.'
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tim Dowling: the tennis has reached boiling point – and so have we
When the sun is out and the weather is hot, my office shed becomes sauna-like long before midday. By 11am, I retreat to the kitchen to work. By noon, the kitchen is also too hot to work in, and I move to the living room, where I find the oldest one and the middle one sitting on the sofa in the dark, their faces illuminated by their laptop screens. 'This is the place to be,' I say. 'The only place to be,' says the oldest. 'My room is like an oven.' I have learned over a period of years that if I keep all the curtains shut, night and day, the living room will stay 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house in sultry weather. On certain days it becomes the only habitable room. Today is one of those days, by no means the first of the year. 'I picked the wrong day to work from home,' says the middle one, typing furiously, eyebrows knit in concentration. 'I could be in an air-conditioned office.' 'Me too,' says the oldest one, sipping from a steaming mug. 'What are you drinking?' I say. 'Tea,' he says. 'Hot tea?' I say. 'Hot drinks keep you cool in warm weather,' he says. 'No they don't,' I say. 'I feel cooler,' he says. 'Well, I don't,' I say. 'I can feel the heat coming off your cup from here.' 'I have a meeting,' says the middle one, standing up. We spend the next four hours like this, with one of us occasionally leaving the room to conduct some private work business, only to return 20 minutes later flushed and sweaty. 'This is kind of depressing,' says the oldest one. 'Can we open the curtains?' 'No,' I say. 'Look.' I point to a spot on the wall where, thanks to a small gap at the top of the curtains, a thin stripe of sunlight is shining on the opposite wall – a stripe of such intensity that it looks as if it could set the paintwork on fire. 'Can we have the tennis on?' he says. 'Yes,' I say. At some point the dog wanders in, crossing in front of the tennis with a rubber ball in its mouth, eyeing the three of us expectantly. 'Nobody wants to play with you,' I say. 'It's too hot.' The dog releases the ball, which bounces once and lands in a boot. The dog tries to retrieve the ball and gets its head stuck. 'What are you doing?' says the middle one. The dog looks his way, with a boot on its head. After the boot is removed, the dog squeezes itself into the gap between the sofa and the wall behind, and collapses there, panting. My phone pings once: a text from my wife. 'Mum will be home in half an hour,' I announce. 'And believe me, she will have things to say about the present arrangement.' The match we're watching goes into a fourth set, which eventually progresses to a tie-break. Inevitably this is the moment my wife picks to walk in. 'What's happening in here?' she says. From behind the sofa, the dog's tail thumps twice. 'We're working,' says the middle one. 'You're watching Wimbledon,' she says. 'Just like in a real office,' I say. 'They don't have the tennis on in real offices,' she says. 'When were you last in a real office?' I say. 'When were you?' she says. 'That's my point,' I say. 'It could be exactly like this, for all we know.' There is a terrible scrabbling sound: the dog is trying to find its way out from behind the sofa. 'I still don't understand why it has to be quite so dark in here,' says the oldest. 'There's ice-cream melting in the back of the car,' my wife says. 'This match is on a knife edge,' I say. Just before dusk, I allow the curtains to be opened for one hour, at which point it becomes clear that the room is in a terrible state: there are cups everywhere, cables running underfoot and shoes strewn across the floor alongside little piles of now unidentifiable things the dog has chewed up in the dark. 'I can't live like this,' my wife says. 'Me neither,' says the oldest one. 'I'm definitely going into work tomorrow.' At 2am I cannot summon sleep in the tropical reaches of our bedroom. I think about taking my pillow down to the welcoming coolness of the living room, but I can hear the oldest one still watching telly in there, unable to sleep himself. I pick up my phone and look at tomorrow's weather, which promises more of the same. Then I think: but there's cricket tomorrow as well, all day.
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tim Dowling: the tennis has reached boiling point – and so have we
When the sun is out and the weather is hot, my office shed becomes sauna-like long before midday. By 11am, I retreat to the kitchen to work. By noon, the kitchen is also too hot to work in, and I move to the living room, where I find the oldest one and the middle one sitting on the sofa in the dark, their faces illuminated by their laptop screens. 'This is the place to be,' I say. 'The only place to be,' says the oldest. 'My room is like an oven.' I have learned over a period of years that if I keep all the curtains shut, night and day, the living room will stay 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house in sultry weather. On certain days it becomes the only habitable room. Today is one of those days, by no means the first of the year. 'I picked the wrong day to work from home,' says the middle one, typing furiously, eyebrows knit in concentration. 'I could be in an air-conditioned office.' 'Me too,' says the oldest one, sipping from a steaming mug. 'What are you drinking?' I say. 'Tea,' he says. 'Hot tea?' I say. 'Hot drinks keep you cool in warm weather,' he says. 'No they don't,' I say. 'I feel cooler,' he says. 'Well, I don't,' I say. 'I can feel the heat coming off your cup from here.' 'I have a meeting,' says the middle one, standing up. We spend the next four hours like this, with one of us occasionally leaving the room to conduct some private work business, only to return 20 minutes later flushed and sweaty. 'This is kind of depressing,' says the oldest one. 'Can we open the curtains?' 'No,' I say. 'Look.' I point to a spot on the wall where, thanks to a small gap at the top of the curtains, a thin stripe of sunlight is shining on the opposite wall – a stripe of such intensity that it looks as if it could set the paintwork on fire. 'Can we have the tennis on?' he says. 'Yes,' I say. At some point the dog wanders in, crossing in front of the tennis with a rubber ball in its mouth, eyeing the three of us expectantly. 'Nobody wants to play with you,' I say. 'It's too hot.' The dog releases the ball, which bounces once and lands in a boot. The dog tries to retrieve the ball and gets its head stuck. 'What are you doing?' says the middle one. The dog looks his way, with a boot on its head. After the boot is removed, the dog squeezes itself into the gap between the sofa and the wall behind, and collapses there, panting. My phone pings once: a text from my wife. 'Mum will be home in half an hour,' I announce. 'And believe me, she will have things to say about the present arrangement.' The match we're watching goes into a fourth set, which eventually progresses to a tie-break. Inevitably this is the moment my wife picks to walk in. 'What's happening in here?' she says. From behind the sofa, the dog's tail thumps twice. 'We're working,' says the middle one. 'You're watching Wimbledon,' she says. 'Just like in a real office,' I say. 'They don't have the tennis on in real offices,' she says. 'When were you last in a real office?' I say. 'When were you?' she says. 'That's my point,' I say. 'It could be exactly like this, for all we know.' There is a terrible scrabbling sound: the dog is trying to find its way out from behind the sofa. 'I still don't understand why it has to be quite so dark in here,' says the oldest. 'There's ice-cream melting in the back of the car,' my wife says. 'This match is on a knife edge,' I say. Just before dusk, I allow the curtains to be opened for one hour, at which point it becomes clear that the room is in a terrible state: there are cups everywhere, cables running underfoot and shoes strewn across the floor alongside little piles of now unidentifiable things the dog has chewed up in the dark. 'I can't live like this,' my wife says. 'Me neither,' says the oldest one. 'I'm definitely going into work tomorrow.' At 2am I cannot summon sleep in the tropical reaches of our bedroom. I think about taking my pillow down to the welcoming coolness of the living room, but I can hear the oldest one still watching telly in there, unable to sleep himself. I pick up my phone and look at tomorrow's weather, which promises more of the same. Then I think: but there's cricket tomorrow as well, all day.
