Should workers be allowed to continue working from home in Australia? Shelly Horton and John Mangos weigh in

The debate around working from home versus returning to the office has no signs of stopping, especially as Aussie workers are increasingly resisting calls from their bosses to come back in person full-time.

The topic caused heated debate in the Today Show studio, with 9honey's Lifestyle presenter Shelly Horton going head-to-head with former news presenter John Mangos.

Mangos made his opinion clear to hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell, sharing that he did not agree that working from home is a "fundamental right".

Watch the video above

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"Your boss pays you money to get off your arse, get into the train or the bus or the tram or your car, and go to the office and be productive," he said.

"Seriously, you're paid to go to work, to be productive for the company that hires you.

"And as far as I can gauge, no one is more productive, working from home, getting up and making cups of tea every five minutes."

He also added that going to work in person increases interaction with colleagues that is
"actually very productive because you bounce ideas off each other and stuff.

"Working from home is a lark. It's an excuse to sit home and make cups of tea," he said firmly.

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Horton, who is a staunch advocate for flexible work conditions and has been working from home herself for 10 years, maintains she is "more productive sitting at my desk at home than I am ever when I'm in an office.

"When I'm in an office, it's like, 'Let's grab a coffee, let's chat about this, how about this TV show?' I don't do that when I'm sitting at home."

She also added that there was no evidence that productivity has gone down whilst working at home, though she does admit there has been a 3.7 per cent drop in productivity across the board.

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But before she could get into her explanation, Mangos cut her off to tell her, "Shelly, you don't get paid to sit in your pyjamas all day and, and sit at the keyboard for five minutes."

Horton fired back, "If I'm saving 10 minutes by not putting on a suit, I can put that 10 minutes into being productive.

"I think it's ridiculous that you think people are swanning around at home. We have proven that we can get a lot of work done."

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She then shared that she believes a hybrid solution of three days at home and two days in person is the best solution, to which Mangos repeatedly told her, "You're kidding yourself."

Campbell and Russell decided to call time out, saying, "I don't know about you guys (but) I really enjoyed that."

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