The corona-virus has been part of our daily life for several months now. It is at the origin of a wide health crisis, much wider than we would have imagined. In a way, whether we like it or not, instead of waiting for the arrival of a new normality, we are starting to think of the current situation as the “Covid normality”. Not forgetting, however, the latest encouraging news about the vaccine.
As far as economic life is concerned, the limitations are important, sometimes even dramatic, especially when it involves direct human contact.
Many sectors are affected, especially tourism, restaurants, hotels… But not only. For example, according to the World Economic Forum, during the first lockdown, the demand for electricity plunged by more than 10% in Europe. And what about events, face-to-face training, etc…
We had the perception, at the very beginning, that this crisis was going to last a few months. We thought it was a minor virus, not too important. Nevertheless, with a mortality rate around 2%, and symptoms often similar to those of a common flu, the virus has put the entire health system at risk, while at the same time making the economic situation more precarious. Just that. And the global economy was not, let’s not forget, in its best moment at the beginning of the pandemic.
But will it last much longer? When is this story going to end? Six months, a year, two, three? If one thing remains clear, in any case, it is that we have definitely entered into uncertainty. And this remains probably the most uncomfortable scenario for the economy.
In short, it is time to assume the situation as it is. We should rather react.
In fact, we have already started to do so. Especially with the intensive use of the tools that the Internet makes available to us: e-learning, e-commerce, teleworking.
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As we can see, in all three areas their growth was already there long before Covid. Th pandemic actually worked as an accelerator.
As far as Covid and teleworking are concerned, some companies, did not dare to take the step before the pandemic, as their usual operative already allowed them to reach their goals. Others had set up the measure as per request of some employees who, either regularly or on an ad hoc basis, practiced teleworking by their own decision. And finally, there were companies, especially in the tech sector, that had already made a significant investment in this modality.
So we are at an important turning point. Ten or fifteen years ago, we still used to say “if you don’t have a website, you don’t exist in the economic world”. Today, on the other hand, we could say: having only a website does not guarantee you a presence close enough to your customers and prospects: the website is no longer interesting, it is necessary, but often not enough.
Well, this is probably the type of situation we will start to see regarding teleworking: it was, until now, something interesting, weird, funny… boring sometimes. From now on, in some sectors more than in others, of course, it is becoming a major strategic issue: if you don’t implement teleworking, you risk losing competitiveness within your market. And this goes beyond the debates about wage dumping. You’ll be saving money just by making employees shift from face-to-face to teleworking. And you may also gain in productivity. Not to mention the benefits in terms of air pollution, etc.
It is in this context that we find particularly interesting the appearance, at the beginning of September, of the White Paper: Télétravail et Culture d’Entreprise, by Joanna Bessero and Marie-Laure Vonlanthen. The basis of the document is a survey, carried out in the business environment of French-speaking Switzerland between the months of May and June last year, with the aim of measuring the impact of teleworking before, during and after the first lockdown. More than 200 people, from different sectors and professions, answered the various questions proposed by the survey.
Among other things, a few items caught our attention. For example, the fact that most respondents consider themselves more productive in teleworking mode. In the same way, a large majority would like to be able to continue with teleworking after Covid. The document also includes direct personal testimonials from several professionals.
But teleworking, apart from the obvious advantages, also brings new challenges. From a technical point perspective, of course, but above all from a human point of view. There is work to be done, both in terms of management and human resources. How to motivate employees? How to anticipate their needs? How to manage them? Should they be controlled? If so, how and to what extent? How to evaluate their work? What degree of availability should be demanded of its employees?
Anyway, Covid and Teleworking are together hand in hand. Sooner or later, Covid era will come to an end. Let’s hope that it’s very close. But, in any case, a whole new perspective is opening up before us with the momentum that teleworking has gained.
Last Updated on 10 months by GreenGuy
André Guillen
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