Mike's Minute: We're still talking about working from home

One of the "never the twain shall meet" moments that came out of Covid was working from home. 

Here we are, five years on, and the battle has not only not died, it's intensified. 

The big gab fest this week in Canberra had the unions asking for a four-day week. 

Victoria, run by communists, has already stated they will put it into law, even though they can't. 

Now the obligatory poll shows, guess what, huge numbers of people want the right in law to work from home. 

On the other side of the equation is the poor old businesses who are pulling their hair out. 

In places like the UK and America it's got a bit ugly with mandates and threats over returning to the office, or else you're out. 

The coalition in Australia in the recent campaign ran on a policy of banning work from home for public servants. It went down like a cup of cold sick and was, among other things like nuclear, seen as the reason they lost so badly. 

That’s the trouble with democracy, isn't it? What if the people are wrong? What if the collective doesn’t get it and doesn’t care? 

You could run a poll that says, "would you like the Government to pay for a family-sized chocolate bar and a French martini every Friday?” You'd get a good number. 

What we want and what makes sense don’t always align. 

"But I save time in the commute". Yes, you do and that’s good. Because you have to remember not all ideas are 100% bad or good, right or wrong. 

But on the whole working from home does not suit the employer as much as the employee. 

Are there exceptions? Of course. But exceptions are not the debate. The debate is the law, and the law applies to everyone. 

Making it worse is the people who make the laws are given their jobs by the people who do the polls. So, do you suck up to them and give them what they want, or do you do the right thing? 

Especially when, in this case, the right thing may not be the popular thing. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What of the never never, the twain shall meet moments
that came out of COVID was this work from home business? There?
I mean here we are five years on and the
battle has not only not died, it's intensified. The big
gab fest this week in Canberra had the unions asking
for a four day week. Thank you very much. Victoria
run of course these days by communists, has already stated
they will put it into law even though they can't.

(00:22):
And now the obligatory poll that shows guess what, huge
numbers of people want the right in law to work
from home. Other side of the equation is the poor
or businesses who are pulling their hair out, and in
places like the UK and America it's got a bit
ugly with mandates and threats over returning to the office
or else we're going to sack you. The coalition in
Australia in the recent campaign, you might remember, ran on

(00:43):
a policy of banning work from home for public servants.
It went down like a cup of cold sick and was,
among other things, like their nuclear policy, seen as the
reason they lost so badly. And that's the trouble with democracy,
isn't it. What if the people are wrong. What if
the collective don't get it and more importantly don't care.
You can run a pole. I mean, I could run
a poll that says, would you like the government to
pay for a family sized chocolate block and a French

(01:05):
Martini for every New Zealander every Friday? I mean, you
get lots of support for that, wouldn't You're what we
want and what makes sense doesn't always align all but
I save time and the commute. Yes you do, and
that's good because you've got to remember that not all
ideas are one hundred percent bad or one hundred percent good,
right or wrong. But on the whole, working from home
does not suit the employer as much as the employee.

(01:27):
Are there exceptions, of course, there are exceptions, But exceptions
are not the debate. The debate is the law, and
the law applies to everybody, and that is the problem.
Making it worse is the people who make the laws
are given their jobs, of course by the people who
do the polls. So do you suck up to them
or give them what they want? Or do you do
the right thing? And given in this case, the right
thing may not be the popular thing. For more from

(01:49):
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