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40 percent of employees have already worked from home this year. When it comes to equipment, he often turns to his own purchases. Instead of reporting sick, many prefer to work at home.
Home Office: Just a year ago, this was a big unknown to most employees. And a nightmare for many employers. Because those who work from home not only have to have a certain self-organization, they also hide from the boss.
Due to the crown, 40 percent of employees have already worked from home this year, as shown by a survey conducted in October (i.e. before the second shutdown) by the market research institute Ifes on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. Work (AK). And of these respondents, 15 percent performed their professional activity almost continuously within their own four walls. After all, almost one in two people found their way back to the office or only worked at home in rare cases. In the spring, a minority made a pilgrimage to their current workplace. “We suppose that now it will be the same again”, says the general director of Ifes, Eva Zeglovits. In October, 85 percent said it was not possible to have a home office at work.
Inadequate home equipment
What hasn’t changed since the spring is the home office equipment issues. In October, 94 percent of respondents used an Internet connection, but only a small proportion get access from their employers. It was not really different in spring. Slightly more than half now own a real desk chair, but 88 percent use their private furniture. The image is similar for desktops and printers. Even laptops were only available through employers 46 percent of the time. One thing stands out: men are better equipped than women.
The Chamber of Labor wants to put pressure on negotiations with the ministry and businessmen regarding the Ministry of the Interior. In autumn, ÖVP Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher announced that she wanted to present specific head office regulations by March 2021. In December there will be a meeting with the ministry’s social partners. However, the AK wants a law, and ideally by the end of the year. Renate Anderl, head of AK: “The head office is not a loophole.”
According to the AK, five rounds of talks have already taken place on the subject. “But there are different approaches to what we want, what the ministry and the employers want,” says Anderl. The AK boss considers a deal possible this year, if you respect it. The AK is not only concerned with the question of whether the head office should be voluntary (although one agrees with the employers on this). But also about how additional costs can be covered. Accident insurance and the law on working hours also play a role.
Anyone who sits at home all day is theoretically available at any time. In the Ifes survey, 44 percent said that the employer could communicate with them, even outside of working hours. But more than half manage to differentiate themselves after work.
In case of illness, it seems difficult to draw limits: more than half work from home instead of going on sick leave, even if their physical well-being suffers. Especially women with children and housework: 61 percent continue to do their work while sick. For parents it is 51 percent.
Home office instead of day care
“We know that being on sick leave is something that makes people more likely to work in the home office than to call when sick,” says Zeglovits, head of Ifes. The fear of job loss plays as important a role as colleagues who would be burdened by overtime. AK President Anderl suspects that the reason can also be found in the pandemic. At times like these, it’s hard to find a new job. Especially for women with children. If it is not the parents who are sick, but the offspring, there is the possibility of a care leave in order to take care of them. Yet 60 percent of employees still work, only from home. Especially women under 40 years old. A circumstance that Anderl describes as “shocking.” (nst)
