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Speaker 1: Almost half of our public servants work one day a

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Speaker 1: week from home and a quarter on a Friday. The

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Speaker 1: Public Service Commission has released data. It says some departments

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Speaker 1: like the IRD and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities have

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Speaker 1: more than eighty percent of their staff working from home

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Speaker 1: at least once a week. The persay says this is

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Speaker 1: sort of a win for them because the numbers aren't

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Speaker 1: that bad. The acting National Secretaries Furfet Simon's good afternoon,

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Speaker 1: flur good afternoon. Isn't this quite bad? Half of them

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Speaker 1: having one day at home a week?

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Speaker 2: No, Actually, we want a system where by public servants

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Speaker 2: are able to work from home, where it offers a

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Speaker 2: win win for them and for the employer. And that's

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Speaker 2: what the research shows it does. And it's not just

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Speaker 2: a policy that operates in the public service. There are

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Speaker 2: people all over New Zealand who are working from home

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Speaker 2: and for home it's good for them and their employers

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Speaker 2: are supportive and encouraging. We know that it improves concentration,

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Speaker 2: it allows people to get more work done, and people

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Speaker 2: also say that they are able to stay more motivated

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Speaker 2: when they're working from home. So we welcome this and

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Speaker 2: we want an environment where all workers are encouraged and

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Speaker 2: enabled to work from home where this is possible.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but I would say that too if I was

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Speaker 1: asked if I liked working from home, and I was asked,

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Speaker 1: are you more productive at home? I would say yes,

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Speaker 1: even if I wasn't. So can we really rely on

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Speaker 1: those surveys?

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Speaker 2: Well, it's not just that there's actually international research which

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Speaker 2: shows people are more productive, but also it benefits the workers,

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Speaker 2: So people who have caring responsibilities, women, people with chronic illnesses, disability.

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Speaker 2: It enables them to participate in the workforce in different

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Speaker 2: ways and that's good for everybody. And look, you can

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Speaker 2: see many companies are offering this as a competitive term

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Speaker 2: to make sure that they can attract the best people too.

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Speaker 1: And what is with the Friday? Why are a court

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Speaker 1: at choosing Friday in particular? Do you think is that

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Speaker 1: a particularly productive day to work from home?

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Speaker 2: I think it sort of just makes sense. It's near

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Speaker 2: the end of the week, it's near the weekie.

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Speaker 1: That shouldn't matter. Should because it's about productivity, right, So

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Speaker 1: it shouldn't matter what day of the week it's taken.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's just as what people have worked out And

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Speaker 2: actually that's probably easier for employers if it's all generally

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Speaker 2: the same day that they can predict it, and some

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Speaker 2: organizations that why don't we encourage it home on a Friday,

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Speaker 2: Why don't.

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Speaker 1: We predict Tuesday and make that the day because it's just.

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Speaker 2: Before the weekend. So it does work well for people.

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Speaker 1: But you know what I'm saying, don't you, Flare. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you know everybody at listening to this in their cars

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Speaker 1: right now who's driving probably driving home from work, I

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Speaker 1: might add, they'll be thinking the same thing. It's convenient

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Speaker 1: that it's Friday.

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Speaker 2: Well, you can choose to take a cynical approach, but

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Speaker 2: actually what we know is that if you work from home,

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Speaker 2: it does reduce the commute, it does mean that you

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Speaker 2: can have a better life. And we say that public servants,

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Speaker 2: like other workers, should be able to have a work

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Speaker 2: place in an approach to work that enables them to

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Speaker 2: have a good life, and we want that for all workers.

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Speaker 1: Al Right, Flur, thank you very much for coming on

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Speaker 1: the show. I always appreciate it. Fur Fit Simons with US,

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Speaker 1: Acting National Secretary for the Public Service Association in Wellington.

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Speaker 1: For more from Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive listen live to

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