According to an analysis by the employers’ organization, business productivity has increased by up to 16% since the start of the pandemic in Switzerland. Normally, this increase is only 1% on average. The reason for this jump is explained by a larger drop in the volume of work compared to economic performance, said the chief economist of the Swiss Union of Arts and Trades (USAM), Henrique Schneider, in the Sunday newspaper.
With much less work, the economy has produced little less, hence its productivity. Henrique Schneider believes that the increase is due to the fact that the employees have concentrated on the essentials and have improved their working procedures both in telework and in the digital field. “The economy is more flexible than expected and can dramatically increase productivity, at least in a short period,” he said.
Read also Marie-Hélène Miauton’s column: Telework: towards a uberisation of society
Lessons to be learned
Due to partial unemployment and unemployment data, Henrique Schneider estimates that the number of hours worked will fall by at least 10% in the first quarter and by 15% in the second. But gross domestic product only shrank 2.6% in the first quarter.
The USAM intends to draw lessons from this increase in productivity during semi-containment and has prepared a paper in favor of revitalizing the internal market. In particular, it calls on parliament to relax the labor law and facilitate telework through more flexible rules. So an employee should occasionally be able to work 50 or even 67 hours a week, if they can compensate for it later, according to the USAM.
Also read: Teleworking is appreciated but has its limits
Promotion of telework
According to a survey carried out in May by the gfs.bern institute, 79% of those questioned wanted to continue teleworking after the pandemic. 89% believed that companies should promote this form of work.
Commissioned by the Syndicom communications union, this survey also highlighted the legal loopholes to be filled, with 61% of respondents saying that the employer should partially cover the costs of working remotely.
In 2019, the Federal Court ruled in favor of an employee who asked to be compensated for his work at home. He did not have a workstation with his employer and had to store part of the company’s archives at his home.
On this subject, read again: Telework: the thorny issue of fees
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