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From Friday, the time has come: teleworking will no longer be compulsory, but only recommended. HR service provider Acerta expects many small businesses to return to the old pre-coronavirus work organization, despite the hype around ‘hybrid working’ (part home, part office) ).
The Consultation Committee decided last week to lift the telework obligation from February 18, as part of the relaxation of restrictions in the face of the pandemic. “However, teleworking is still recommended whenever possible,” the report says.
Ellen Van Grunderbeek, human resources expert at Acerta, expects more companies than initially expected to return to the “good old days” before the pandemic. “I expect a mixed picture, with some companies returning to business as usual and not transitioning to hybrid working. These will mainly be small SMEs”.
“It has to do with scale, among other things. If you have five employees and they need to consult about incoming orders, it’s always handy to have them all in the same place. »
“In contrast, in most large companies that were already working in hybrid before or since the coronavirus, a clear work policy has been drawn up. In most large companies, this often means requiring employees to come into the office for at least two days and work from home or in the office for the other three. »
“Teleworking will be a permanent feature of the organization in most companies. But the relief is great, both for companies and for employees, ”reacted Hans Maertens, general manager of Voka, immediately after the decision. The employers’ organization expects many employees to happily return to the office several days a week.
House sparrow or office sparrow?
According to Acerta, many employees have become so accustomed to working from home that they are not happy about the return to commuting. It remains to be seen whether this really becomes an argument for leaving the company and changing employers.
Van Grunderbeek: “It will be a challenge to reconcile the needs of both types of employees. You have the “home-birds”, often the most introverted employees, for whom working from home has become a habit and who have found a good work-life balance. And then you have the office sparrows, often extroverts who yearn for more social contact, working together, having lunch and having meetings in the meantime. »
If the employee refuses to return to the office, the employer may interpret this as a refusal to work and the relationship may quickly deteriorate. This is exactly the scenario you need to avoid as a company, say HR experts, who advise employers to make returning to the office a positive event.
Compulsory return to the office?
According to Van Grunderbeek, in the current context – with the official recommendation to work from home – the employer cannot force the employee to come to the office. Only when this recommendation also falls will a firm obligation become possible.
“Your employer may expect more people to work, but in reality they cannot demand it. In the early stages of the pandemic, when infection numbers were quite low, business leaders would often tell us, “I want all my employees back.” Legally, this cannot be enforced. »