Six out of ten French employees would like to practice teleworking more according to the public authorities. In reality, and according to the labor observatory, it is only between 7% and 18% of professionals could agree to this practice in France. What are the disadvantages of working in open space and the benefit/risk balance of teleworking? Health on the Net conducted the investigation.
Too much promiscuity in open spaces harms communication and creativity
Lack of privacy, repetitive or last-minute meetings, noisy colleagues, difficulty concentrating on specific tasks… employees are increasingly complaining about their working conditions in open spaces.
As proof, in the space of 6 years, between 2008 and 2014, the number of Americans complaining that they can no longer concentrate at work has increased by 18% according to a study by the Harvard Business Review.
On a global scale, it is the French, Belgians, Germans, and Spaniards who are the most upset about these working conditions in large open or partially closed spaces.
Finally, these open spaces would cause professionals to lose creativity and communication.
To know! Teleworking means any form of work organization in which work that could also have been performed on the employer’s premises is carried out by an employee outside these premises on a voluntary basis using information and communication technologies. communication (ICT) (source: Ministry of the Economy, Finance, Action, and Public Accounts). ICT and high-speed Internet transmissions, widespread throughout the territory, make it possible to work remotely while being connected to the office by landline or mobile phone, computer, modem, fax, webcam, but also the development of high-performance software such as those linked to Knowledge Management.
The benefits of home office
In view of the statistics, only 8% to 17.7% of French employees can benefit from teleworking in which the employee is at home or in a co-working space. Business leaders are struggling to develop telework for several reasons such as the cost associated with its implementation and the fear of losing the notion of supervision and management.
To know! There are currently 728 co-working places in France, including 218 in Ile-de-France, according to the Coworking Map.
This is well below the European average which is close to 20%. In the Scandinavian countries, this rate would even reach 30% to 35%.
These data still seem too low when we know the advantages of teleworking, at home or in a co-working space:
- Reduction of fatigue and loss of time-related to travel time in public transport or by car;
- Accessibility to work for certain people with disabilities, family caregivers or individuals suffering from a chronic illness.
Finally, all these constraints related to the physical movement of workers could save French companies up to 123 billion euros by 2030 thanks to:
- A 5 to 30% increase in worker productivity ;
- A 20% drop in absenteeism through an increase in employee motivation,
- A drop in turnover in companies;
- Savings in real estate surface area of up to 30%.
Telework: a few rules are necessary, however, to preserve your health
Even if it has advantages for the employee and the employer, teleworking is also a source of professional risks.
These health risks are:
- Physical: the unsuitability of teleworking equipment and office ergonomics (office chair, position of the computer screen, lighting, etc.) can lead to physical risks such as musculoskeletal disorders such as neck pain and low back pain or visual and auditory disturbances)
- Psychosocial: difficulties in setting limits between professional and private life, accumulation of stress and anxiety linked to excessive controls or objectives, impoverishment of social contact.
To know! There are regulations for work on screens (decree no. 91-451 of May 14, 1991, and DRT circular no. 91-18 of November 4, 1991). It should be at eye level, adjustable vertically and laterally, and LCD screens should be adopted instead of CRT screens. The screen must be oriented perpendicular to the windows to limit reflections while being able to be swiveled if reflections remain.
In this mode of telework in full development, which should concern half of the employees of the tertiary sector within ten years, the preventive measures must take into account at the same time the physical risks and the psychosocial risks.
To supervise teleworkers, training is offered such as that related to the prevention of emotional tensions, the management of working time, work postures on screens, or those relating to auditory and visual risks.