The future of telework and hybrid work

In the post-pandemic world of work, some employees have returned to the workplace full time, but many are opting for hybrid work, often working from home or at another place several times a week and at different times of the day. To support policymakers in ensuring that the right conditions for telework and hybrid work are in place, Eurofound has developed various scenarios on the future of telework and hybrid work, highlighting different implications for the quality of work and organisational practices.

Although telework and hybrid working are still evolving, new research suggests that developing telework and hybrid work in an equitable way brings better outcomes in terms of job quality and organisational practices. It will therefore be critical for the social partners and policymakers to consider issues such as ensuring fairness in the workplace, reviewing organisational practices and enabling autonomy, developing managers’ skills, streamlining regulatory arrangements, guaranteeing job quality in situations of telework or hybrid work, and ensuring the voice of workers when designing a positive future for telework and hybrid work.

Without careful planning, changing work arrangements have the potential to disrupt workplace dynamics and accentuate gender imbalances. This highlights the importance of supporting organisations in implementing telework and hybrid work arrangements across a range of areas, such as re-examining health and safety risk assessment practices in relation to psychosocial risks, creating a culture of trust in organisations and paying attention to advanced technologies that can affect the remote management of tasks in the future.

To ensure that line managers are well equipped to manage hybrid work, organisations will be required to invest in training. Effective training strategies will require guidelines on topics such as communication, fairness and inclusion, as well as recommendations on, for example, operational efficiency and promoting employee engagement in hybrid environments.

It will be a priority for policymakers at national level to consider the most appropriate ways of setting minimum standards for telework and hybrid working, for example, in areas such as the right to disconnect, equipment costs, communication, energy costs, health and safety, mental health, and equal treatment of teleworkers and those working only at the employer’s premises. The social partners have a critical role to play in shaping these standards. At EU level, monitoring and the issue of cross-border telework and hybrid work, including the tax and social security implications will also be important.