Telecommuting or working from home. What you should know about the differences between them and what they involve

In recent years, there have been significant developments on the Romanian labor market.
Although the legislation and the true effects of this system are not fully known by everyone, the epidemic has exacerbated the phenomena of telework and many employees still use it today.

We first explore the development of remote working in recent years and consider its promise for the future before examining what telework actually comprises and why we cannot entirely identify it with working from home.

We are all aware that the coronavirus pandemic’s onset has given rise to this new way of working, which involves switching between the office and one’s home or any other location in the world.
Companies at the time were hesitant to permit this type of labor, but given the limitations, it was frequently pretty much the only way they could stay in business.

After a few months, market research showed that working remotely wasn’t actually bad for anyone.
Instead of that!
There are numerous benefits for both employers and employees.

Employers have gained from more production and have been able to lower the cost of an office building, on the one hand.

Employees have learned, however, that working remotely offers flexibility, more time for family time, time saved from traveling, and even lower transportation expenditures.
Not to mention, several studies demonstrate that workers are more motivated, better equipped to handle home duties, pay closer attention to their loved ones, and have a greater separation between work and personal life.

According to a 2021 Pwc analysis, 60% of respondents stated their company exceeded employee performance and productivity goals set in the previous 12 months, while only 4% indicated it performed noticeably worse.

| Maintaining and even increasing employee productivity since the pandemic, under remote working conditions, has positively surprised organisations that initially had pessimistic expectations. But as time has passed, the new way of working is starting to show its shortcomings.

The difficulty of managing work and family responsibilities in parallel, for example, the lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues, the social uncertainty generated by the pandemic are just a few factors that explain the global wave of resignations and the decreasing attachment to employers.

Encouragingly, in the current survey, almost 40% of leaders said that trust between employees and their line managers is very important. Companies need to find a balance between how they work and the health of their people by taking a data-driven approach to understand and prevent the reasons that have decreased employee retention,” said Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner PwC Romania.

“The epidemic has demonstrated that large-scale remote working is possible, and concerns about productivity have decreased as businesses iron out the bugs in integrating the required technologies.
For businesses and employees, the past several months have been a test of endurance and an experiment, both of which we can see that they have so far passed with flying colors.
Therefore, it is anticipated that over time, more and more businesses would adopt remote working.

More than half of respondents to the survey have already implemented indefinite remote working, which indicates this “During the first year of the pandemic, when working from home was widely accepted on the domestic labor market, Ionuţ Simion, country managing partner PwC Romania, made this statement.

At that time, only 7% of respondents mentioned a decrease in productivity, according to the source.

| “Employee well-being is key to productivity and, as many people struggle with fear and anxiety during this period, it is important that organisations increasingly invest in resources and benefits to help them create a balance for their health,” said Oana Munteanu, senior manager People & Organisation, PwC Romania.

What the future of the labour market looks like

Let’s look at what will happen in the future from this perspective now that we have seen what the influence has been so far on the labor market.

According to the studies performed thus far, remote work will likely continue to be an option that neither employers nor employees are ready to give up, even when restrictions are lifted.

For instance, a BestJobs poll for the first half of this year reveals that there has been a flurry of activity in the labor market throughout the period under evaluation, with hybrid and remote working choices the norm!
Employers offered 230,000 employment in the first half of 2022, a 50% increase from 2021.
79% of these are office-based positions, 12% are hybrid jobs, and 9% are remote jobs.

Remote working has become so popular in 2022 that 40% of employees would leave a company if they were asked to give up telecommuting and work exclusively from the office, according to Undelucrăm.ro.

| If they were asked to work most of the time from the office and they didn’t want to, about 40% of employees would look for another job. At the same time, about 36% would talk to other colleagues to persuade management and HR to change this decision, and 25% would comply with the decision to go to the office because they have no alternative,” the analysis says.

On the other hand, working from home is somewhat threatened by the energy crisis.

| “The difficult economic climate is forcing employees accustomed to remote work to re-evaluate going to the office. In addition to the benefit of working alongside colleagues and physically attending meetings, going to the office now has the added benefit of reducing monthly bills. Although commuting costs do arise, more than half of employees who currently work remotely said they are considering working at the office more often in order to reduce utility usage at home, while 33% plan to ask their employer for budget to offset bills and 20% will take no action,” a BestJobs analysis shows.

What you don’t know about remote working that’s worth knowing before you choose it

Given this, let’s explore telework in more detail and see what it actually comprises.
Few workers are aware of the distinction between teleworking and working from home:

However, the practical and legal reality clearly separates the two occupations.

| “Telework means that “the employee, on a regular and voluntary basis, performs the duties specific to his or her function, occupation or trade at a place other than the workplace organised by the employer, using information and communication technology (…)

Homeworking is regulated in three articles of the Labour Code and existed, admittedly as a regulation, long before teleworking. In the case of home working, we are talking about carrying out the duties of the job directly from home, without necessarily involving information and communication technology. And work is only possible at home (at home or at residence), not from other places. For work at home, employees set their own working hours," explains avocatnet.ro.

On the other hand, many workers believe they may create their own schedule in accordance with their own priorities if they leave the office and work somewhere else.
This is just untrue!
If you decide to work from home because of this inspiration, you’ll find yourself in a nightmare because you have the same duties as employees who work in an office.

In actuality, folks who work from home should be given the same respect as those who work in an office.
You should pause to consider the numerous anecdotes recently shared by some employees, and you should speak with your managers about how you will be handled if you decide to leave to work this manner.

For instance, you must ensure that you receive the same compensation package, bonuses, promotion opportunities, etc.
The majority of businesses don’t alter these policies for remote workers, however there have been tragic cases where leaving the office reduces your prospects of promotion.

Last but not least, keep in mind that working from home or anywhere else in the globe demands a great deal of discipline because it can be tempting to get caught up in what you need to accomplish around the house instead of doing your job.

In fact, some studies demonstrate that people typically work longer hours, and maintaining overtime records is challenging.
Before making such a professional move, take everything into consideration to avoid waking up in the middle of a nightmare.

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