The state government's move to direct more public servants back into the office has divided workers in the Hunter.
The direction from Premier Chris Minns' office said employees should be working "principally" in an approved workplace in NSW, with arrangements to work from home taking into account the "wider needs of departments, agencies, the community and stakeholders".
The Public Service Association assistant general secretary Troy Wright labelled the announcement as "quite offensive" as he said many public servants carried the state through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It won't work to start with. In our members across the Hunter, and right across the state the announcement has been received poorly," Mr Wright said.
Mr Wright said it was incorrect to suggest that the state had a "stack" of public sector workers sitting at home.
The directive only talks to a small proportion of public servants with flexible working conditions who work from home, he said.
"The vast majority of state public sector workers are in the office. They are on front-line roles, it's national parks, it's prison, it is child protection and things like that," he said.
Mr Wright said government departments across the Hunter and the state had based decisions on office space on the premise that hybrid working would continue for the foreseeable future.
He said he was aware of one location in the Hunter where an office closed, and was not replaced, with the idea that everyone could work from home or hot-desk at other locations.
"The fact of the matter is that there are state public sector workers across the state that don't have a location to go to," he said.
Public Service general secretary Stewart Little said while many of their members could not work from home, they had always pushed for flexible working arrangements.
"Any PSA member with issues in flexible working arrangements, including working from home, will receive support from their union and they should contact their workplace delegate or our head office if they feel they are being unfairly treated," he said.
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said they understood where the premier was coming from and overall supported the move.
"Having people come back into the city for part of that time, I think it is a good sign for those businesses and a healthy sign for CBDs," he said.
Mr Hawes said while COVID-19 hit Newcastle CBD less than some of the capital cities, there was still stress and strain on local businesses in the absence of workers.
He said having more people buy coffee, lunch or go shopping on their lunch breaks would help boost vibrancy in cities.
"For us, it just comes back to a question about productivity and what businesses think work for them," he said.
Mr Hawes said flexible working was a "multi-dimensional issue" that came down to individual businesses.
"There is not a silver bullet or one outcome that would work for every business," he said.
