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Su-Lin Tan

In the four years that global IT consultancy Waterstons has allowed its 20 Sydney-based staff to work whenever and wherever they want, only one employee’s performance has suffered.
The UK-based business, which has around 300 employees worldwide, first adopted “flexi-working” practices some 30 years ago – and also allows its employees to take as much annual leave as they need.
“If you treat your people like adults, that’s how they will behave,” Waterstons’ Asia-Pacific Managing Director Charlie Hales said, adding that the company measures employees’ output, not input.
This positive employer-employee dynamic not only makes the company more attractive to new recruits, it also inspires them to go “the extra mile”, she said.
The only downside to flexi-working? Some employees who have only ever had nine-to-five jobs can struggle to adapt to autonomous working, Hales said, but Waterstons now screens for this during the interview process.

Flexible working practices are having a moment post-pandemic, not only in the Asia-Pacific but around the world – underscoring a shift in attitudes towards work and its impact on modern life.
In Australia and New Zealand, which already had some of the region’s most advanced flexi-working systems, new legislation has also been enacted – adding to existing laws protecting employees’ rights.
The change was turbocharged by pandemic-era remote working, which forced some companies to adapt to the practice for the first time, while others simply expanded on their existing policies.
‘Return-to-work’ mandates
Despite sweeping endorsements for the benefits of flexi-working, for employers and employees alike, it has also triggered concerns about its effect on productivity.
Many companies voiced concerns that a lack of face-to-face, in-person collaboration could undermine employee development and younger staff members’ ability to learn.
As tensions simmered, some employers like the Commonwealth Bank of Australia moved to impose “return-to-work” mandates last year, prompting a labour backlash.
While unions have fought back against the change, bosses chalked up a win in November when the Fair Work Commission, Australia’s industrial relations tribunal, denied an Adelaide man’s request to work from home full-time – calling his employer’s requirement for face-to-face contact justified, in what was seen as a landmark decision.

Technology security company Okta, which has around 6,000 employees worldwide, believes in the benefits of in-person interactions, but still allows its employees in Sydney and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific to follow the hybrid work arrangements that best suit their needs.
“People have tended to find working from home can generally make them more productive, because they can do many tasks uninterrupted,” said Ben Goodman, Okta’s Asia-Pacific and Japan general manager.
“So rather than being prescriptive around times when people should be in the office, we’ve guided people to say these are the forums where you will probably gain benefit from being physically around other people, and created a platform [of events] to bring them back into the office.”
The company, which has 230 staff in Australia and New Zealand, also recognised that some of the changes brought by the pandemic were more permanent, such as employees moving away from urban areas or dedicating extra time to childcare, Goodman said.

“We have seen people struggle to recalibrate those elements by potentially being asked to come back into the office,” he said. “Ideation and strategy is always more effective when it’s in the office, but it doesn’t mean they need to be in five days.”
Even with the freedom to work when and where they wish, some staff will still choose to visit the office every day, as Waterstons has found. A company that needs to threaten employees to get them back in the office likely has a wider problem with work culture, managing director Hales said.
Indeed, the implementation of flexible working practices can shine a light on the health of a company’s relationship with its employees, says Andrew Barnes, founder of New Zealand’s largest corporate trustee company, Perpetual Guardian, and a leading advocate of the four-day work week.
“To make flexi-working work, there has to be a pact between employees and employers,” he said. “Because everybody’s got to get something out of it, businesses need to get better productivity … and if companies can find these solutions, the benefits would be in the form of more time off.”
To make flexi-working work, there has to be a pact between employees and employers
Andrew Barnes, advocate for four-day work week in New Zealand
“It’s very clear that this is something where there is mutual responsibility and respect,” Barnes told This Week in Asia, warning that a one-size-fits-all approach such as legislation or government guidelines may not have the desired effect.
When Perpetual Guardian rolled out four-day weeks in 2018, it told employees that they would continue to receive their full salaries – so long as their productivity did not suffer.
“If you don’t have any conversation about output, and all you’re ever talking about is time and location, you’re missing the point,” he said. “Is flexi-working a sign of good leadership? No, good leadership is key to flexi-working.”
At professional services firm Deloitte, offering 13 different ways to work flexibly has also helped the firm retain top female talent. “The world of work has changed forever, so it’s better to lean in than it is to push away,” said Pip Dexter, chief people and purpose officer for Deloitte Australia.
John Hopkins, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology who studies flexible work practices, said the traditional five-day week dates to a time “when there was typically only one wage-earner in a household and the average life expectancy of Australian workers was 54”.
“Most four-day week pilot programmes benchmark themselves against five-day week performance metrics and are coming out on top,” he said.
In addition to productivity, other benefits of a four-day week include reduced employee attrition and absenteeism, Hopkins said. But there are also problems.

The flip side
While employees can largely be trusted to make good decisions with flexible working, issues can arise, according to Gillian Brookes, a flexible workplace consultant in New Zealand.
Some might become “entitled” and spurn in-person interactions altogether, she said. Others are prone to overwork and job burnout, or feeling disconnected from their teams while working remotely.
Too much flexibility can also cause employees to disengage if they lose sight of the purpose and meaning of their work, Swinburne’s Hopkins said.


But the practice looks like it’s here to stay, with Brookes predicting it may even be adopted by the likes of doctors and tradesmen, who she said could write reports, do research and hold meetings remotely.
According to Stats NZ, New Zealand’s official data agency, 80 per cent of employers in the country now offer some form of flexi-working.
In Australia, all employees will have the “right to disconnect” from August under a new law that allows members of staff to refuse contact with employers outside their working hours
“People need flexibility these days,” Waterstons’ Hale said. “At the end of the day, it’s not about hours … but what we have is lots of metrics that people are happy, clients are happy.”


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Australia

Work from home looks here to stay in Australia, New Zealand – but it’s not for everyone

Employers say some workers who have only ever had office-based nine-to-five jobs can struggle to adapt to autonomous working. Photo: Shutterstock

Peak-hour commuters walk across a glass walled bridge between office buildings in Sydney. Flexible working practices are having a moment post-pandemic, not only in the Asia-Pacific but around the world. Photo: Reuters

Okta’s Ben Goodman says the company has avoided “being prescriptive around times when people should be in the office”. Photo: Handout

Some changes have become more permanent post-pandemic, such as employees moving away from urban areas or dedicating extra time to childcare. Photo: Shutterstock

Members of Australia’s Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union march as part of Labour Day celebrations in Brisbane. Experts predict remote working practices will start to be adopted more by tradesmen and other in-person professions in the future. Photo: EPA-EFE

From Singapore to Malaysia, in Asia’s work-from-home tug of war, have Gen Z got the upper hand?

Working from a beach in Bali will seem less of an impossible dream for hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans from December, when new flexitime guidelines kick in. Photo: Shutterstock 

It’s not just Gen Z workers, flexible work arrangement can also benefit young parents – and those who have to care for elderly relatives. Photo: Shutterstock

Commuters take the causeway to Singapore from Malaysia’s Johor state. Will Malaysians be more willing than Singaporeans to forgo flexible working hours? Photo: Reuters

The Petronas Twin Towers and skyline of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s laws already permit employees to apply for flexible working arrangements, but critics say most Malaysians don’t how to exercise their rights. Photo: Bloomberg

Evening commuters cross at an intersection in Tokyo. Japan is infamous for its strict work culture, office hierarchies and long working hours. Photo: Bloomberg

Staff attend to babies at a confinement centre in Singapore. Much of Asia is contending with dwindling birth rates. Photo: Bloomberg

Heavy traffic in Pasay city, Metro Manila. The Philippine capital has some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. Photo: EPA-EFE

A co-working space run by KMC Solutions in Makati, Metro Manila. Co-working spaces provide a place for employees from different companies to work closer to home. Photo: Handout

Academics expect companies to follow suit with rivals who implement flexible working practices, if these result in improved employee satisfaction and productivity. Photo: Shutterstock

Daigou were once ‘make-or-break’ for Australian brands in China – where are they now?

At their peak, “daigou” were more than just personal shoppers, their collective buying power could “make or break Australian brands seeking to enter the Chinese market”, insiders say. Photo: Shuttestock

Customers browses shelves at “Mr Vitamins”, a chain of supplement outlets in Sydney, in 2016. Photo: AFP

Before the pandemic, shoppers among China’s rising middle class were keen to grab “everything they could”, former daigou say. Photo: Shutterstock

Lyn Lin’s Phoenix Beauty Group’s newest store opened in Sydney last year. Photo: Handout

Some daigou shoppers now sell Australian and New Zealand products via e-commerce platforms. Photo: Handout

James Hudson (right) joins prominent Chinese influencer, or “key opinion leader”, Yuanyuan to live-stream a promotion for a client called EZZ Life Sciences. Photo: Handout

Virtual cashier ‘zooming in’ from Philippines at New York City restaurant sparks debate about remote-work ethics

Filipino call centre agents attend to US clients at a facility in Quezon City, suburban Manila. File photo: AFP

User Brett Goldstein’s post on his encounter with a virtual cashier in an NYC restaurant. Photo: X/@thatguybg

A restaurant in Soho in New York. The virtual cashier service is one way of helping restaurants cut costs and address staff shortage. Photo: Shutterstock

Filipino call centre personnel attending to US clients at a new business process outsourcing office in Manila. File photo: AFP

As more in Asia work from home, firms should realise there’s ‘no one-size-fits-all solution’

People cross the road in Central, Hong Kong. Employers keen to have workers back in the office are attempting to counter perceived negative impacts of remote working. Photo: SCMP

A man holds his son while working from home. The overwhelming desire for employers wanting workers back in the office seems largely tied to productivity monitoring. Photo: Shutterstock 

From Singapore to Hong Kong and Japan, is a 4-day work week a pipe dream for Asia?

Asia is notorious for having some of the world’s longest working hours. Photo: EPA-EFE

Office workers walk out for a lunch break at the financial business district in Singapore. Photo: AFP 

In Malaysia, many people face pressure to work overtime. File photo: Reuters 

Unionised workers strike over unfair labour practices in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Bloomberg

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Some employers love it. Others have issued ‘return-to-work’ mandates in a bid to force employees back into the office – sparking a labour revolt
But experts say flexible working also has its downsides, from overwork and job burnout, to increased disengagement and workers becoming ‘entitled’


Some employers love it. Others have issued ‘return-to-work’ mandates, forcing employees back into the office. Finding a balance is key, experts say – and flexibility isn’t without its downsides.
