Public servants have been under intense scrutiny in Wellington this year as the coalition Government continues its drive to cut costs and find efficiencies.
The latest expectation placed on their shoulders: save a “dying” Wellington by returning to the office.
It’s hoped stricter rules around working from home in government departments will see more people in Wellington’s CBD, spending their money on takeaway coffees, cafe lunches, after-work drinks and lunchtime splurges. Businesses themselves have blamed reduced foot traffic as a reason for economic struggles, largely driven, they say, by people working from home.
However, Sunday’s 5.7-magnitude earthquake delivered a timely reminder as to why that’s become somewhat of a norm for those in the capital.
Long before  Covid-19  disrupted lives across the country, Wellingtonians were familiar with being forced out of their workplaces at short notice to work from home. It was the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, magnitude 7.8, that was a game-changer for the city. And it’s that single event that forced every employer to confront business continuity in the face of major disruption.
In the immediate aftermath, at least 3000 public servants couldn’t get into their offices.  In the years since, there’s been a steady stream of building closures — either temporary or permanent — as structural issues are identified; offices moving from one building to the next, temporary workspaces set up to accommodate displaced quake refugees.
Today, the number of earthquake-prone buildings in the capital totals 572; 52 of those are residential apartments, equating to 980 units.
Following the latest jolt to hit Wellington on Sunday, ANZ closed its Tory St building to carry out an assessment. Staff, including NZME employees based in the building, were again asked to work from home.
In announcing the new expectations for public servants, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said “working-from-home arrangements are not an entitlement and should be by agreement between the employee and the employer”. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he wanted a “highly productive and collaborative” public service.
No one can argue with those expectations and goals, but with a public sector largely based in one of our shakiest cities, working from home is also an unavoidable necessity.
There’s no predicting when Wellington will be disrupted by the next quake.
To ensure we do have a highly productive public service that can promise continuity in the face of a natural disaster, workplaces will need to retain the ability to operate remotely.
It’s not about people skiving off or pandering to entitled individuals, it’s about resilience and adaptability in an earthquake-prone country.