Abolition of the home office obligation: What does this mean for managers?
Repeal of the home office obligation and also no more recommendation: Since February 17, 2022, most Corona measures have been repealed in Switzerland. Is there now also a relapse into the past when it comes to hybrid working? An expert makes recommendations on what managers should now pay more attention to.
As of today, February 17, 2022, the home office recommendation is officially a thing of the past in Switzerland, following the abolition of the home office obligation. Only the rules for the protection of particularly vulnerable employees remain in place. So companies are now free to decide whether they continue to accept home office, offer flexible working models or require their employees to be present in the office again. This could now give rise to different expectations, and this harbors potential for conflict. How should companies or managers now proceed?
Giving employees confidence
Many employees are likely to have acquired a taste for the freedom to work at home and will no longer let themselves be taken for granted. Many HRM experts are convinced of this, including Joachim Pawlik, CEO of Pawlik Consultants in Hamburg. He warns against simply returning to a comprehensive obligation to be present. Rather, he says, it is now the order of the day for managers to trust their employees. "They pay it back twice over," says Pawlik. Swiss employers say they are aware of their responsibilities in this regard. "Employers will continue to exercise caution and avoid contagions in the workplace and staff absences as far as possible with adapted protective measures. As usual, they will also be concerned about protecting the health of their employees as part of their legal duty of care," says a statement from the Swiss Employers' Association.
When it comes to recruitment, the question of mobile working is likely to become a decisive one. Talents and potential candidates will probably no longer simply approve of too strict an obligation to be present and overregulation. Companies that are open and flexible when it comes to hybrid working are likely to receive significantly more applications.
After the removal of the home office obligation and recommendation: Five tips
- Safety first. Hygiene concepts are the norm. But especially when more people are coming together in the office again, they should be consistently adhered to. The manager is the role model here. They should not allow any peer pressure to arise in which "at last we are together again" results in too lax an approach.
- Giving psychological security. Not everyone has the courage to come out with their worries. Especially when people say things like, "Oh, it's all right now. The central role of the manager will be to pay attention to the very different interpretations of the current situation and to do justice to them - as far as the operational requirements allow.
- Test new solutions. Managers should have the courage to first try out new models with remote and presence and to gather experience before laying down rules. It's better to take a pragmatic approach: try things out, reflect together and learn. Only then should a rule be laid down.
- Rethinking the office. People no longer come to the office to work alone. If you want to lure them out of the home office, you have to offer them a sense of community. This can be achieved through zoom-free zones and days of new office design - without having to remodel right away, shared lunches...
- Trust instead of obligation. Mandatory rules are the last resort. It is better to discuss and decide together that "it would be good if everyone was there together on Wednesday" than to oblige employees to do so "from above". Trust is the most important commandment; employees pay it back twice.
You can find more information about hybrid working here (Source: Pawlik Group, Hamburg)
