Energy company offers to make all jobs flexible

David Provan does his full-time job which is based in Sydney from his home in Melbourne.

The company he works for has decided to remove any barriers that prevent its 5800 employees from making their jobs more flexible.

For Mr Provan, the head of health, safety and environment at Origin Energy, that means working from home in Melbourne and flying to the utility company's offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide most weeks.

It allows him to take his children to swimming lessons on Friday mornings before contacting his colleagues around the country over the phone and online.

He has given up his desk at Origin's Melbourne office because he can go an entire month without using it.

"Fifty per cent of the time I work from my home in Melbourne and the other 50 per cent I am travelling between Sydney and Adelaide," he said.

"I don't go into the Melbourne office really at all.

"My wife's family are all in Melbourne and Origin were happy for me to do my role from Melbourne."

Mr Provan and his wife Kim Willocks have three children Jake, 4, Ashley, 2, and four-month-old Jordyn.

"If I'm working from Melbourne, normally I help get the family going in the morning," he said.

His fluid work day can also include completing tasks at 11pm.

More than 1000 managers at Origin are now being trained in how to make jobs more flexible.

Origin's chief executive officer Frank Calabria says making jobs more flexible has been a big priority since he joined the company in October. The aim is to encourage high performance at work. Greater flexibility also helps the company attract and retain the best talent.

"Flexible working arrangements support diversity in our workforce and a more inclusive mindset – both of which contribute to good decision-making, a high performance culture and the long-term success of our business," Mr Calabria said.

"We are pleased to be one of the companies that are leading the way in this space. Whether our people are in office-based or critical operational roles, there is always a form of flexibility available."

Employees were not required to justify why they should be given greater flexibility. The onus was now on managers to make it happen, a spokeswoman for Origin said.

"We are moving to an "all roles flex" culture," she said.

"Rather than have to ask for flexibility, it is now assumed that any roles can be performed flexibly, including field and key operational roles."

Flexible arrangements include working from home, changes to start and finish times, job-sharing, part-time roles and career breaks.

"Not all types of flexibility are available to all roles, but there is always at least one type available," the Origin spokeswoman said.

"While a truck driver must always be in their truck to perform their role or a plant manager must be physically at the plant, we could accommodate a change of hours or provide flexibility within rosters."