The Victorian Government has announced new legislation that will give many employees the right to work from home at least two days per week starting in September 2026 (see recent media release).
Whether you agree with the changes or not, this will likely mean a shift for many leaders. Yet while legislation may shape where your people work, it doesn’t need to impact your ability to lead and sustain a strong workplace culture.
So, how do leaders maintain performance, collaboration and culture when work happens across multiple locations?
Remote Work Doesn’t Change the Fundamentals of Team Effectiveness
One of the biggest misconceptions about remote work is that it fundamentally changes what drives team performance.
In reality, the principles of effective teams remain the same, regardless of whether people are working in an office or remotely.
High-performing teams consistently demonstrate:
- Clear goals and shared expectations
- Constructive communication and feedback
- Collaboration and knowledge sharing
- Accountability for results
- Trust between leaders and team members
These behaviours are not dependent on physical proximity.
However, remote and hybrid work make leadership practices more visible. Weak communication, unclear expectations or overly controlling leadership styles become far more apparent when teams are not co-located.
Why Workplace Culture Matters More in Hybrid Work
Many organisations historically relied on physical proximity to reinforce culture. Being together in the same environment made it easier for leaders to observe behaviour, share information and resolve issues quickly.
But culture doesn’t actually live in buildings.
Culture lives in the behaviours people experience every day.
When teams work remotely, culture is shaped by:
- how leaders communicate priorities
- how decisions are made
- how people collaborate and support each other
- how performance is recognised and developed
- Perfect for leadership teams, project teams, and offsite facilitation
In hybrid workplaces, these behaviours need to be intentional rather than incidental.
Without deliberate leadership, hybrid work can easily drift toward fragmentation, miscommunication and disengagement.
The Leadership Shift Required for Remote and Hybrid Teams
As remote work becomes more common — and now increasingly supported by legislation — leaders need to adapt how they manage performance and engagement.
Effective hybrid leadership often involves several important shifts.
From monitoring activity to enabling outcomes
In traditional office environments, leaders often equated productivity with presence. Hybrid work challenges this assumption.
Successful leaders focus on clear outcomes, priorities and accountability, rather than simply tracking where people are working.
From informal communication to intentional connection
In co-located teams, information often spreads organically through informal interactions.
Remote teams require more structured communication rhythms, including clear expectations, regular check-ins and transparent decision-making.
From control to trust
Hybrid work environments operate best when leaders trust their teams to manage their work effectively.
Organisations that rely heavily on oversight or micromanagement often struggle with remote work, while those that foster autonomy and accountability tend to perform better.
From proximity bias to inclusive leadership
Hybrid environments can unintentionally create proximity bias, where employees who spend more time in the office receive more visibility or opportunities.
Leaders must ensure that recognition, development and career opportunities remain equitable for both remote and in-office employees.
Hybrid Work Is a Leadership Opportunity
The introduction of work-from-home rights in Victoria may accelerate the shift toward hybrid work across many organisations.
But legislation alone will not determine whether hybrid work succeeds.
The organisations that thrive will be those that focus not just on where work happens, but on how people work together.
By building cultures that encourage:
- collaboration
- initiative
- accountability
- open communication
organisations can create environments where employees perform at their best — whether they are working from the office, from home, or somewhere in between.
The Bottom Line
Victoria’s work-from-home legislation highlights a reality many organisations already recognise: flexibility is becoming a permanent part of the modern workplace.
But hybrid work doesn’t reduce the importance of culture or leadership. If anything, it makes them more critical than ever. Because while policy may determine where work happens, leadership determines how well it works.