Teleworking at Cerdá: a corporate and individual responsibility

In Spain, it was minimally established compared to most European countries. It has been during the recent pandemic when it has become a widespread practice in a large number of companies in our country. This sensitive situation quickly made companies move their workforce to homes with the implementation of teleworking, having to adapt from March 2020 to the present day, where many companies continue under this form of work. It is also true that a return to normality is beginning to be perceived. Motivated by this, much debate is being created about whether it is, in the long run, a positive measure or not for companies and their workers.

On the one hand, many companies see remote work as an opportunity, but others as a potential problem that possibly harms the development of the company by perceiving a negative effect on teamwork or on productivity itself of some positions. At the worker level, the opinion about it varies a lot according to personal circumstances in many individual cases: possibilities and space in the house, savings in travel times, and even one's personality.

Even though telework has arrived unexpectedly in our lives, many sectors will not be able to depend on this form of work in the long term, since the physical presence in the company of some is essential, as is the case of factories or more operations and logistics units or even sectors such as catering. On the contrary, a large part of the service sector or certain areas of companies (administration, sales, marketing) may be much more suitable for this type of work.

 From companies, what has been most questioned about teleworking has been whether the way of performing the function is sufficiently productive and autonomous to be able to continue to be implemented in the long term without having to go to the company.

As has always been said, extremes are not the most convenient scenarios, and people are already beginning to talk about mixed formulas (2 days teleworking and 3 office days or vice versa) that allow them to benefit from both practices. In fact, in a survey carried out by Adecco, it is indicated that 77% of companies are in favor of working in a mixed model, implementing face-to-face and remote work even though the health situation already allows them to return.

We can affirm, as was well reflected in the opinion article of the newspaper El Mundo on May 23, that now is the moment when more companies are reflecting on which measure will be the most suitable in terms of non-presence. And many employees wonder if face-to-face will return or if, on the contrary, teleworking will continue to be carried out. Recent polls suggest that workers want mixed formulas with some flexibility.

It is true that, as a result of this extraordinary situation that we are experiencing, a process of humanization and greater socialization within companies is developing. This process refers to the transformation of the workplace. Change the image from a boring and traditional place to a place of leisure and socialization, where employees are part of a community and are no longer just workers in the company's facilities. In this way, the days they come to the company, the processes are carried out to get to know each other, collaborate, and work as a team in the best possible way. When employees are happy, they are more productive, and that's really what benefits both parties.

For us to make the best decision, it is important to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.

Advantages:

• Greater autonomy and flexibility when organizing the working day and distributing free time: the fact of being able to work from home can allow you to create a working schedule adapted to you.

• Elimination of dead times: When we go to work there are dead times such as traveling to the company's facilities, coffee with colleagues …

• Cost reduction and less pollution: the need to travel to the company is eliminated, thus eliminating the cost of transport and reducing pollution.

• Working remotely can improve productivity. According to a study with 22,500 workers by Stanford University professor Nicholas Bloom, it has been shown that thanks to teleworking, the level of productivity increased by 2.7%.

• Lower costs for the company: there is a reduction in costs by minimizing office space and logistics.

Disadvantages:

• Mixing and not differentiating work life from personal life when occurring in the same place: It is important to know how to differentiate between personal space and workspace because mixing can be harmful and we must have an adequate place adapted for work and the development of a working day.

• Changes in relationships between workers: The work environment is essential for product development, so teleworking can harm performance because of the absence of sharing in the work environment.

• Loss of feeling of belonging: being away from the company, and the weak internal communication that being at home implies, can influence the professional development and motivation of workers.

• Connectivity: it is important to have a good internet connection from home because if several people are teleworking, it is possible that the internet speed slows down and may influence the task you are developing.

• An increased sedentary lifestyle can develop into increased physical problems such as back pain.

To get the most positive results of telework, at Cerdá we have designed a series of measures that will improve the effectiveness of remote work.

These are the main recommendations:

• Design a routine and schedule adapted to you where there is a good distribution between free time and work and you can differentiate between both areas clearly, achieving the appropriate conciliation.

• Create your work zone where you feel comfortable and know that you won't have distractions around. To do this, control the environment as much as possible, removing possible distractions such as television, personal mobile phone, or pets.

• Avoid being sedentary and every so often gets up, stretch your body and go back to work.

• Encourage teamwork and avoid isolation by talking with colleagues or holding meetings, even at a distance

At Cerdá we have developed an exercise of responsibility in both directions. On one hand, the company has developed a formula that is positive both for the company and for the reconciliation of the personal and professional life of our workers. At the moment that both aspects are not balanced, we will know that the formula is not the ideal one.

On the other hand, workers who are part of the project must make an effort to improve their productivity under this model. We must manage to reconcile how to ensure maximum results for the company. Happy workers will lead us to greater productivity. This higher productivity can be transformed into better results for the company, which will lead to better care of Cerdá's workers.

What no one can argue is that this new way of working has come to stay. We must, from our individual and collective responsibility, make the best possible decision, reinforcing the leadership as a company that we all want.