Study of flexible working arrangements - viilup-uuringud.ee

Under the order of the Estonian Confederation of Employers, a study on flexible working arrangements was carried out, which also examined the effects of remote work, digitalisation and the health crisis on work organisation. Several respondents pointed out that the current health crisis has had a major impact on the generation or increase of remote jobs and increased the need to accelerate the processes of digitalization of the company.

The study consisted of the analysis of secondary sources, a qualitative stage with the participation of human resources managers of larger companies and CEOs of different sizes in the in-depth interviews and focus group. As a final stage, a quantitative study involving 251 HR managers from different fields and involving more companies with a higher number of employees.

Since there had been a health crisis for some time at the time of the study, there was quite a bit of talk about its impact on remote work and the needs of flexible working arrangements as well. At the same time, the needs of flexible working arrangements were noticed by many companies in the past and regulatory support is expected to enable more flexible working relationships and to take into account that the basic job of employees is no longer in the office due to the generation of remote jobs. The health crisis itself created both problems and opportunities for employers and contractors.

Problems were, for example, in the case of a health crisis, that finding a workforce became more complex, the possibility of working remotely had to be created or increased, the workload in certain areas increased, and in some areas there were problems with deliveries of raw materials or goods, and in others it became difficult to draw up charts. The problems were generally pointed out more by large companies than by companies with a small number of employees. The staff view highlighted in particular the complexity in planning work and rest time and organizing work at home, and the mental health and screen fatigue problems caused by the previously named and general nervous atmosphere, and some lost their jobs or decreased income. .

As opportunities created by the health crisis , it was mainly highlighted that the crisis accelerated the process of digitalization of the organization, more attention began to be paid to the mental health of the workers, with remote work the workers gained more personal time, became more independent and more effective. Further mention was made of new ways of educating employees, the possibility of testing telework, and the simplification of communication with customers and collaborators via the web, the increase in the qualification of employees thanks to the development of digital skills.