Teleworking has come to stay in Spain, at least partially. It will never reach the required levels during the pandemic, but its trace will remain indelible in most organizations. According to the radiography of this sector carried out by Red.es, the percentage of the population that practices remote work stands at 9.4% of the total Spanish workforce.
This percentage reached 16.2% during the strict confinement of the spring of 2020 -although other sources estimated it at 85 %-, to later be reduced in the form of saw teeth in tune with the different waves of infections: a 10 , 3% in the third quarter of 2020, 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2020, 11.2% in the first three months of the year and the referred 9.4% of the months between April and June.
In this way, Red.es has shed light on the phenomenon with its latest Indicator on Telework in Spain, where it confirms that the “progressive relaxation of confinement has led to a significant reduction in habitual telework”, with a total of 1.8 million of people, which is double the existing before confinement.
By way of conclusion, Red.es points out that the current percentage of telework marks the minimum for the year, with a decrease of 1.8 points compared to the previous quarter, “which may anticipate successive falls in subsequent quarters as companies increase your percentage of face-to-face work on telework “, explains the study by the agency dependent on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.
The same sources reveal that occasional teleworking – of people who telework less than half of the days they work – has been increasing during the pandemic and is stabilizing around 5.3% of those employed (1,051,400 people ) from 2.9% (539,000 people) in the second quarter of 2020, according to data from the Labor Force Survey.
The same report emphasizes the gender gap that exists in teleworking, since the adoption of this work model is slightly higher among women than among men. “In the second quarter of 2021, 10% of women teleworked regularly compared to 8.9% of men. This pattern is also repeated more tepidly in occasional telework, with 5.3% female representation compared to 5, 2% of the male.
In the classification of workers by age, the Red.es study indicates that the largest groups of remote workers from their private homes correspond to the ages between 35 and 44 years (10.3%), slightly ahead of those aged 25 to 34 (9.9%).
By autonomous communities, regular teleworking has reduced its presence throughout the country from one quarter to the next, except in Aragón and Melilla, where it grew 0.2 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively. “The autonomous community with the highest proportion of people teleworking regularly is, by far, Madrid, with 18.7%, which is double the national average,” according to the study. The Catalan community follows the Madrid region, with 11.1% of the total, ahead of Asturias, with 8.7%. On the contrary, Extremadura (4.3%), Cantabria (5.3%) and Navarra (5%) are the communities with the least prestige of teleworking.
Against the data collected by Red.es, the wishes of almost half of the employees contrast. Thus, a study on the future of Telework, prepared by LinkedIN, indicates that 40% of Spaniards prefer a hybrid work model, which combines face-to-face assistance and telework. 35% of the 1,009 respondents for this study defend the return to full-time face-to-face work, while one in four consulted opts to continue teleworking.
Negative stigma
The general director of LinkedIn for Spain and Portugal, Ángel Sáenz de Cenzano, has opted for “a flexible work model”, since it “does not reduce the productivity of workers” and allows them to integrate professional and personal life. Despite this acceptance of the hybrid work model among Spaniards, there is still concern about the impact it may have on job opportunities. Thus, 51% of those surveyed between 45 and 54 years of age perceive a negative stigma associated with working from home, while the percentage falls to 38% in the group over 55 years of age.
In addition, among the youngest, 61% of people between 24 and 34 years old believe that there is a greater probability of recognition for those who go to the office, although only 44% of those over 55 have that perception, according to reports the Europa Press agency.
Likewise, with the return to face-to-face work after the pandemic, 74% are concerned about the application of security protocols in their offices and 65% consider it important to have coronavirus tests in their respective workplaces.
On the other hand, a study carried out by the firm Fellowes, a company specialized in office solutions, with a survey in which more than 6,000 European workers participated, has revealed that nine out of ten (96%) of Spanish workers consider satisfaction is important to them in their workplace regardless of whether it is in the office or at home. In addition, 93% of Spaniards affirm that this degree of satisfaction improves their productivity by more than 25%.
‘Liquid’ templates
The workplace ISS firm recently brought together representatives of companies such as Amazon, Telefónica, Reale, Indra, Bankinter and Repsol to reach the conclusion that “remote work, although it has worked during a situation of extreme need and it has many advantages, it cannot replace face-to-face work or the relationships and synergies that are created within the same physical space. However, ISS experts also consider that you cannot take hasty measures or force people to leave behind some habits to which they have been adapted for months and which for many have been beneficial, especially in terms of conciliation, “explain ISS sources.
In turn, the startup Woffu, which offers solutions in the cloud to manage vacations, points out that “another consequence of the pandemic has been the establishment of new work shifts in order to avoid massive exits and entries of companies This continues in September, and entails a deep restructuring of all the teams, of the process management.At this point, it is key to have solutions that allow a visualization of shift management in real time in order to achieve a work environment frictionless.
Travel vs videotelephony
The effectiveness of teleworking and teleconferencing forced into place by the Covid-19 pandemic will hinder the recovery of traditional business trips, according to a study by Oliver Wyman. This report indicates that 72% of Spanish workers consider that they achieve efficient collaboration through videoconferences and, likewise, 63% of Spaniards, compared to 67% globally, believe that they work effectively remotely. The study estimates suggest that the global workforce plans to carry out its work activity remotely 1.8 more days a week than before the pandemic.
Oliver Wyman predicts that, after the return of the summer holidays, national and international trips for work reasons will grow by an average of 1% globally, Although this increase will not be symmetrical in the different regions. In this sense, China will lead the recovery of business trips, with a growth outlook of 7% for the next few months; followed by the United States, whose companies will increase their trips by 4%.
However, Europe will lag behind in resuming business travel. In Spain, these will not grow or decrease in the coming months, while in France, the United Kingdom or Germany the decline will be more pronounced, with falls of 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively, in the short term. In this way, the consultancy has highlighted that the pandemic has caused a change in habits that points to a decrease in business trips. with a growth outlook of 7% for the next few months; followed by the United States, whose companies will increase their trips by 4%.
However, Europe will lag behind in resuming business travel. In Spain, these will not grow or decrease in the coming months, while in France, the United Kingdom or Germany the decline will be more pronounced, with falls of 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively, in the short term. In this way, the consultancy has highlighted that the pandemic has caused a change in habits that points to a decrease in business trips. with a growth outlook of 7% for the next few months; followed by the United States, whose companies will increase their trips by 4%.
However, Europe will lag behind in resuming business travel. In Spain, these will not grow or decrease in the coming months, while in France, the United Kingdom or Germany the decline will be more pronounced, with falls of 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively, in the short term. In this way, the consultancy has highlighted that the pandemic has caused a change in habits that points to a decrease in business trips. while in France, the United Kingdom or Germany the decline will be more pronounced, with falls of 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively, in the short term.
In this way, the consultancy has highlighted that the pandemic has caused a change in habits that points to a decrease in business trips. while in France, the United Kingdom or Germany the decline will be more pronounced, with falls of 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively, in the short term. In this way, the consultancy has highlighted that the pandemic has caused a change in habits that points to a decrease in business trips.
