HOME OFFICE: HALF OF THE EMPLOYERS WILL CONTINUE APPLYING FORMS OF REMOTE WORK AFTER THE END OF THE PANDEMIC

According to a survey conducted by BIA and the Association for People Management /BAPM/ the pandemic has made the home office work form an integral part of our business. 180 companies took part in the survey. Before the first lockdown, a mere 28% of people worked from home, mainly in the IT field. Ever since then, twice as many employers have introduced a fully remote form of work. Half of them will continue these practices after the covid measures are lifted.

Most often, companies work remotely in the administration, management, and marketing departments, followed by accountants and IT professionals.

The pandemic not only surprised Bulgarian businesses but also forced them to stay home. Everything changed overnight - from working at the office to digitalizing the entire work process.

Julian Sofroniev owns four companies, three of which are in the insurance sector. Due to the limitations, he introduced a 50:50 method. "Our teams are divided - half work at home, half work in the office, which has a great impact on business, we don't suffer, there is no problem, there are no losses, it's convenient for the colleagues, it's convenient for our clients," he said.

Every third company had a problem regulating the remote work process and providing equipment for its employees. This is followed by a lack of control and the provision of safe working conditions. But there are also many benefits for employers, such as, for example, fewer expenses.

However, this is not the case with Julian's fourth company, although it is one of the most high-tech in our country. "We work with development, we have project managers, many sites, and the possibility for the team to work remotely is extremely limited," he added.

It is the worsened team interaction that most of the companies point out as a disadvantage. 28 percent think that the work quality at home decreases and employees are not as productive. But half of the respondents state the opposite - the home environment improves the work quality.

"There have been allegations that employees are working harder, there have been questions about whether they have the right to have their lunch break, etc.," Maria Mincheva, Deputy chair of BIA pointed out.