The current fuel crisis, instigated by the war in the Middle East, has prompted countries to respond in different ways to ensure their fuel supply.

One popular measure has been directing people to work from home to save fuel. Many countries in Asia, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka and most recently, Malaysia, have implemented remote work orders for some workers or four-day work weeks.

The Australian government has shown little appetite to adopt similar measures, despite Energy Minister Chris Bowen referring to remote work as “a sensible thing to do”.

But what does the evidence say about whether government-mandated work from home orders, even if it’s just one day a week, are a good idea? The short answer is a qualified “yes”, but there are lots of factors to consider.

Weaning people away from cars

This oil crisis is the third since the start of the decade. One of the other two crises was also due to war: the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A silver lining to these crises is that they can help reduce people’s dependency on cars. Urban planners have advocated for reduced reliance on cars for decades, to little avail.

My team’s research in Queensland has repeatedly shown locals are attached to driving and road infrastructure. Under normal circumstances, instances of people voluntarily giving up or reducing car use are few and far between.

Yet, even in this car obsessed........

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