End of teleworking: a puzzle in perspective

The perfect balance will be a challenge for employers



Marianne Plamondon

Marianne Plamondon
Labor Lawyer at Langlois lawyers

While the lifting of the recommendation to telework should finally mean that the world of work is returning to its normalcy, the reality is quite different. After more than 20 months of a pandemic during which teleworking was sometimes recommended and sometimes required, rules that employers had certainly not chosen or wanted, new habits have taken root and it is clear that working methods will not be never the same again.

Before the pandemic, employers were still resistant to teleworking despite all the benefits demonstrated for employees and for our society, but they did not have the choice to join it and make it work in the context. Thus, the lifting of the recommendation to telework poses a new headache for employers who must quickly find solutions.

Admittedly, the decision as to the place in which the employee performs his duties is a matter of management law and, therefore, is entirely up to the employer. The employer therefore has, legally, full leeway to determine how and under which conditions the return (or not) to the workplace will be carried out.

The “Great Resignation” complicates matters

However, with the labor shortage which is in full swing and the phenomenon of the “Great Resignation” experienced by employers, in addition to turnover rates which certainly have consequences on productivity, things are getting more complicated. seriously for employers and the use of management rights to justify any decision becomes illusory.

To find solutions that will please everyone and not cause additional departures, employers have no choice but to engage in opinion polls of their workforce to determine the optimal hybrid mode, in addition to making individual accommodations to accommodate those who have moved away from work believing that the pandemic would have no tomorrow.

Thus, the lifting of the recommendation for teleworking certainly marks a new era in the world of work, that of tailor-made, with employees who wish to maintain the gains obtained in the context of the pandemic crisis by means of government decrees.

However, the employment contracts have not been amended, but in reality, it is just like, because the balance of power has definitely changed.

Some good news

This means good news for our workforce, which now benefits from more flexibility in addition to wasting less time in transport, thus allowing a better work-life balance, but also for our society by limiting travel. and their consequences.

This also means good news for employers if they manage to create the perfect balance within the framework of a hybrid telework and face-to-face solution where everyone finds their benefit while allowing increased efficiency. This is a good dose of challenges for employers.

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