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Public servants working from home: Exploring managers’ changing allowance decisions in a COVID-19 context

Author

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  • Sue Williamson
  • Linda Colley
  • Meraiah Foley

Abstract

Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced large sections of the workforce to work from home, the uptake of working from home in the public sector had been limited and subject to the discretion or ‘allowance decisions’ of individual managers. Allowance decisions are influenced by factors at the organisational, group and individual levels. This research examines managers’ allowance decisions on working from home at each of these levels. It compares two qualitative datasets: one exploring managerial attitudes to working from home in 2018 and another dataset collected in mid-2020, as Australia transitioned out of the initial pandemic lockdown. The findings suggest a change in the factors influencing managers’ allowance decisions. We have identified a new factor at the organisational level, in the form of local organisational criteria. At the group level, previous concerns about employee productivity largely vanished, and managers experienced an epiphany that working from home could be productive. At the individual level, a new form of managerial discretion emerged as managers attempted to reassert authority over employees working remotely. These levels intersect, and we conclude that allowance decisions are fluid and not made solely by managers but are the result of the interactions between the organisational, group and individual levels. JEL Codes J81, J32

Suggested Citation

  • Sue Williamson & Linda Colley & Meraiah Foley, 2022. "Public servants working from home: Exploring managers’ changing allowance decisions in a COVID-19 context," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 37-55, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:37-55
    DOI: 10.1177/10353046211055526
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sue Williamson & Linda Colley & Meraiah Foley, 2020. "Human resource devolution, decoupling and incoherence: how line managers manage gender equality reforms," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(10), pages 1560-1578, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laura Seinsche & Kristina Schubin & Jana Neumann & Holger Pfaff, 2022. "Employees’ Resources, Demands and Health While Working from Home during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Study in the Public Sector," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-22, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    flexibility; working conditions; working from home; remote working; pandemic; telecommuting; public sector; managers; flexible working arrangements;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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