Every week, Offishall reads the press and scours the articles related to hybrid work. Here is our selection of the three most important pieces of content of the last seven days.
Every week, Offishall reads the press and scours the articles related to hybrid work. Here is our selection of the three most important pieces of content of the last seven days.
This week's news on hybrid work was marked by the forthcoming return of widespread telework, particularly in Germany, where the number of cases of covid is on the rise and where Germany is expected to curb this new wave by reintroducing home working. A bill to this effect should be presented and signed by the Bundestag at the end of the week. The new regulations should force companies to encourage employees to work from home if there is no compelling business reason to come to the office. " Anyone going to work will also be asked to prove that they have been vaccinated or that they have a negative test," states the article published on the Express website reporting on this news, which has been relayed by all the major French press titles. Faced with the resurgence of the epidemic, the Netherlands has also reintroduced new restrictions, including generalised teleworking.
In France, the question of the return of reinforced teleworking is being raised. The President of the Scientific Council considered that it would be desirable to increase distance working to cope with the fifth wave of covid.
From a British HR magazine, this article states that in order to retain and attract the best talent in today's hybrid environment, business leaders must take steps to cultivate soft skills - essential to employee happiness and productivity. While technical skills were valued and prioritised during the covid, creativity, confidence and adaptability are essential within an organisation. Here are the avenues outlined in the article by Nikolas Kairinos, CEO and founder of Soffos, for employers.
Big one, "don't neglect soft skills". With the hybridisation of work, some things have been pushed aside, organisations have focused on technical and soft skills - such as leadership or communication - which may have been neglected. This is evidenced by the internal communication problems experienced by many organisations during the pandemic. Soft skills need to be put back in the game and developed with hybrid working, the paper says, as do skills such as collaboration and active listening, which are fundamental in a digital environment. Soft skills are easy to see and observe, but difficult to quantify and measure in terms of progress. Secondly, the author suggests responding to the need for individual training (in soft skills) and using artificial intelligence to target and assess the gaps and needs of each individual (ability to delegate, manage a meeting, leadership, confidence, etc.). Thirdly, remote mentoring must be developed, i.e. putting young recruits in contact with more experienced staff to help them progress, particularly by using virtual reality tools in hybrid mode.
Published in Le Monde, this article by Myriam Dubertrand raises the question of the relocation of certain functions outside France in a context of hybridisation of work. "As soon as it becomes possible to work without setting foot in the company, why wouldn't management hire teleworkers directly abroad, especially in countries where labour costs are lower? Because - or rather because - in 2021, Work is not a place you go, it's just something you do, as Salesforce's President and CEO Bret Taylor recently said.
After low-skilled jobs, call centres and the IT sector, white-collar workers could therefore be the next victims of the relocation phenomenon. In particular in the banking and insurance sector - where 92% of jobs can be teleworked - or in the information and communication sector where 79% of jobs can be done remotely. (It is still necessary to find a French-speaking worker, an essential skill in this type of sector). The risk is therefore"to see a large number of high value-added jobs created directly abroad, which could have been created in France if the skills were there", says an expert interviewed, who estimates these "opportunity losses" at around 100,000 jobs over the next three years. Conclusion: "if employees can, in the short term, find happiness there, in the longer term, the risk of unemployment is there.
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