After Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced – and then promptly walked back – plans to force thousands of federal workers back into the office full-time, the sanctity of hybrid work became a hot button voter issue.
Policies threatening the right to work from home in the public sector may have wider consequences at the ballot box this election.
After Peter Dutton pushed forward with plans to force thousands of public service workers back into the office full-time if the Coalition won the election, the sanctity of hybrid work became a hot-button voter issue – so much so the opposition leader walked back the policy just one week into the campaign.
Jordan Carroll, 25, isn't a federal worker but he's among the voters who highly value workplace flexibility.
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Carroll left his 9-5 job at Commonwealth Bank to start his own business and isn't surprised voter sentiment would shift in favour of flexibility.
He quit CBA before it ordered workers to return to the office 50 per cent of the time and enjoyed a hybrid model while still working at the bank.
"Perceptions are changing in terms of what people want from their career," Caroll, who started his research company The Launch Crew after the COVID-19 pandemic, told 9news.com.au.
"People are realising that enjoyment of life doesn't just come from money, it comes from the social side of life… and you get more of that from flexibility at work."
According to a survey conducted by Rippling, 42 per cent of people would re-consider joining a company if it expected full-time office attendance.
More than half of those surveyed also said they rank family-oriented benefits such as flexible hours and parental leave above all else, including salary.
Carroll said he'd also likely choose the benefits of regular work from home over more money if he was job hunting again.
"The quality of life would reduce a lot [without WFH]," he said.
"You can save money with more flexibility, spending less out on lunch, if you have kids you don't necessarily need childcare or you don't need to pay hideous rent in Sydney, I could live somewhere else a bit cheaper," he said.
READ MORE: Customer left confused after bank closes accounts with no warning or reason
Vice president and head of Rippling Matt Loop said hybrid work can feel like an eight per cent salary boost when you combine savings on commutes, parking and lunches.
"For many households, ditching the train fare or after-school care is worth more than a modest bump in base pay," he explained, referencing an estimate made by the International Monetary Fund.
Carroll described Dutton's earlier vow to ban working from home for public sector workers as a "kick in the teeth".
And Loop anticipates this reneged policy will still loom large over the federal election as Australians head to the polls, despite Dutton walking it back and insisting it would never have impacted private-sector employees.
"The debate around flexibility now extends far beyond just the workplace. When an issue shapes everyday life so strongly, it can become a key factor that affects voting decisions – like healthcare or economic policy," Loop said.
"Tough talk on WFH from public figures might play well to those who equate employee presence with effort, but it completely ignores where the mainstream sits.
"Recent events show how quickly sentiment can shift when policies appear out of step with workforce realities."
READ MORE: The top five issues affecting young voters at this year's federal election
READ MORE: Where Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have been on the campaign trail
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) took aim at the Coalition's work-from-home stance before Dutton's backflip and said it would primarily hurt women in the workforce.
"Peter Dutton's one-size-fits-all approach will take us backwards," ACTU president Michele O'Neil said.
"Having the freedom to work from home has helped a million extra women enter the workforce in the past four years."
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