MOST workers in the public service were happy to work from home, and productivity online during pandemic lockdowns generally matched that of office-based staff, said a recent report by Parliament's Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Social Services and Public Administration chaired by Independent Senator Paul Richards.

"According to the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), the view that there is low productivity and poor service delivery in the Public Service has not been substantiated by data," the JSC report said, referring to the work-from-home (WFH) period.

However, there is not yet any WFH policy for the public service, nor any labour laws to regulate this activity. A survey of 66 managers in the public service, municipal corporations, and Tobago House of Assembly (THA) got 58 responses. Most managers – 60 per cent – said most employees who worked from home had done so "just as effectively" as at their workplace. Some 34 per cent said employees worked from home less effectively."Five per cent of respondents indicated that most employees who worked from home did so more effectively than when they worked from their assigned place of work."

Results were less clear-cut as to how WFH practices had affected worker productivity, with fewer managers saying it had remained the same, but more saying it had improved. The same rate of pessimism existed for WFH productivity as for worker effectiveness, that is, 34 per cent.

Some 46 per cent of managers said productivity remained the same, while ten per cent said it had increased. Some 34 per cent indicated a decrease, while nine per cent were uncertain. The JSC opined, "It was encouraging to note that the majority of state bodies reported that their employees were able to work just as effectively at home as they did in the office".

The JSC said the findings suggest a significant potential to standardise WFH arrangements in the public sector within an apt regulatory framework.

"In light of the finding that the majority of state entities surveyed reported that employees were able to work just as effectively from home, the Chief Personnel Officer/ Personnel Department should provide an update to the Parliament on its reclassification exercise, inclusive of its assessment of public-sector jobs that can be done from home."

The report said, last year the Ministry of Planning and Development was given $300,000 to develop a WFH policy for the Public Service."A survey of 1,068 public-sector employees representing ten MDAs conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Development indicated that 853 (82 per cent) of them were able to work from home." MDAs refer to ministries, departments and agencies in the public sector.

The report gave figures showing most respondents, 69 per cent, were under 44 and so likely to be familiar with online technology and so have access to the survey. These were 38 per cent aged 25-34 and 32 per cent aged 35-44.

Overwhelmingly, most staff said they liked working from home – 59 per cent being very comfortable, 19 per cent comfortable, an