Is it too harsh to expect civil servants to work from office?

Is it too harsh to expect civil servants to work in their office two days a week – or 40% of their contracted hours?

Civil servants warned the Scottish Government that it was hard to get any work done in the office.

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union warned there was no evidence that group conversations, annual or monthly reviews, training and team building exercises worked better in person.

“You can’t just declare it to be so,” a union member warned government officials in correspondence obtained by The Herald this week.

Trade union officials, representing civil servants, warned staff would have to “make up for lost time” on their home-working days because of the distracting office environment.

“This policy will increase workloads and stress for no perceived benefit,” government officials were told.

In October, the Scottish Government moved to the expectation that core civil servants – of which there are more than 9,000 – would spend 40% of their working week from the office. There are no disciplinary measures in place for staff who do not meet this requirement.

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Earlier this year, we also revealed that civil servants did not believe the Scottish Government had fairly considered the negative impact office working had on families, particularly those with children.

One fumed: “Are we to live in isolation from our families in need of care?” The plans were then described as “culturally and humanely insensitive”.

Another said no “responsible” or “right-thinking” person would leave their loved ones to work while also performing to the best of their ability.

But isn’t that what millions of people do every single day?

Prior to the pandemic, five-day weeks in the office were the norm for most of us. Although, for emergency workers there was no reprieve during Covid.

A legacy of the pandemic has been the shift to hybrid or, in some cases, remote working.

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For those who took a job with the Scottish Government during the pandemic, where permanent home-working was promised, it is understandable why there could be disgruntlement at the policy.

It seems unfair to now expect them to commute, especially if reaching an Edinburgh or Glasgow office is tricky from rural areas.

There will be others, too, for whom office working is inaccessible because of disabilities or home commitments such as caring for a relative. In the Scottish Government’s case, exemptions are made.

For the rest of the workforce, what's the harm in being in the office twice a week?

Without an office environment, there could be too much temptation to scroll on your phone, take a personal call or play video games.

It was the Scottish Government’s new Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin who joked about a virtual meeting interrupting his Tetris session while working from home during the pandemic.

 His job then was director for safer communities, but now he is tasked with overseeing the hybrid working overhaul from Scotland’s civil servants.

Most UK Government departments expect civil servants to be in the office for 60% of their working week and the Scottish Government has an “ambition” to move towards this target.

If this is the reaction to 40% office working, do officials really want to push it any further?

The challenge for the Scottish Government will be keeping the peace with a crucial civil service workforce.