APS HR Professional News

Kim Terrell is accustomed to working in high-performing teams: he was part of the Australian swim team for 5 years in the 1980s and went to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as winning ten national titles and holding six Australian records.

Over the past few months, APS staff everywhere have been buried under an avalanche of communication. From HR alone there’s been guidance on health and safety, advice about transitioning to remote work or being redeployed to other areas and agencies, and tips on maintaining health and wellbeing… that’s not even mentioning the messaging from executives, managers, and internal communications.

With Google to the latest industry leader encouraging staff to work from home and everyone from newsreaders to politicians dialling in to their jobs digitally, is coming into the office truly a thing of the past? Are we ready to swap the lace-ups for the ugg boots, the meeting room for the spare room, the sensible slacks for the trackie pants?

Just last month, Australian Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott stated that public servants should work from home wherever possible.

While each agency’s management of this will be different, our challenge as HR professionals is the same: how do we maintain the physical and mental wellbeing of staff, and help them bring their best to work – even if that work is now at home?

We’ve put together seven simple steps you can take today that can ease the transition for staff.