During this legislature, Minister of Labor Martin Kocher (ÖVP) wants to review the regulations for working from home that have been in force since April 2021. “I am confident that together with the social partners we will succeed in further improving measures and making them even more practical,” Kocher said at a press conference in Vienna on Monday. According to Kocher, the options for working from home should be expanded beyond your own four walls.
The Ministry has had L&R Social Research evaluate the home working arrangements that have been established in the context of the corona pandemic. 1,500 employees and 500 employers were interviewed for the 190-page evaluation.
No productivity decline according to the evaluation
The survey shows that almost a quarter of employees now work from home, at least occasionally. The investigation shows that “the feared drop in productivity has not materialised”, according to the Minister of Labour.
Opportunities outside your own four walls need to be expanded
Based on the results of the evaluation, Kocher plans to support the expansion of home office capabilities outside of the company as part of telecommuting. Many situations, such as working on the road or from the train, are currently not covered by the current regulations for working from home. In consultation with the Ministries of Social Affairs and Finance and with the social partners, the Ministry of Labor now wants to develop preconditions for flexible working. Another topic, according to Kocher, is the expansion of the cross-border home office. The ministry wants to communicate even more about the possibilities of working from home.
“Home office has worked well”
“For the majority of employees and management surveyed, working from home has worked well,” says Nadja Bergmann, head of the evaluation project at L&R Social Research. However, benefits such as the elimination of commuting, concentrated working from home and more leisure time are partly offset by the feeling of a more difficult distinction between paid work and care work/leisure or more demanding communication with colleagues and superiors. “For many, it is no longer conceivable or desirable without a home office,” says the scientist. That is why the focus on good operational preconditions is “particularly important to realize the benefits of working from home”.
WKÖ Secretary-General Karlheinz Kopf (ÖVP) is positive about the package of measures for working from home. “Models based on mutually acceptable solutions between companies and employees have been shown to work best in practice,” says Kopf. The homework package developed by the social partners has thus proven its worth. The Federation of Austrian Industries would like to see barriers to cross-border digital working further removed.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
