Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1468736
10 ANALYSIS 26.5.2022 Remote working in ITC: from a COVID-19 measure to institutionalisation? Remote working in IT and communications: a comparative analysis of remote working practices in Malta and Germany MATTHEW BORG THE COVID-19 pandemic dramatical- ly affected society, including in the way that work is carried out. One major policy that governments used to control the virus's spread was through social distancing regulations and, as a result, companies worked to find ways to limit the number of people in contact with each other, including by making it possible and even mandatory for employees to work remotely. Consequently, and unexpectedly, many employees around the world were requested to work from home, kicking decades of failed attempts to broaden the use of remote work into high gear. As the pandemic stabilises, transition- ing slowly to a post-pandemic recovery, discussion is intensifying around the question of whether companies will go back to pre-pandemic practices, or whether they will adapt to a more ag- ile and flexible way of working. It is not yet clear whether remote work ar- rangements will remain a short-term response to lockdown measures or whether they will be institutionalised, and at what level. e pattern of remote work distribu- tion varies across different economic sectors, being scarce in sectors requir- ing a fixed location with low autonomy, such as manufacturing, and prevailing in sectors with high ICT usage and au- tonomy, such as the IT and communica- tion industry. To clear up these uncertainties, my research makes a comparative analysis of remote working practices before and after the COVID-19 pandemic with- in the IT and Communication sector. Two countries – Germany and Malta, with similarities in the uptake of remote work – were chosen as cases and inter- views were conducted with Maltese and German registered companies within the same industry, as well as with trade unions representing corresponding sec- tors. e purpose was to analyse how remote work is currently being adopted and regulated. How do companies and trade unions envision the future of re- mote working? What was the remote work situation before the COVID-19 pandemic? Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were large differences in the approach to remote work. Remote work was scarce in Malta, especially when compared with its European counterparts. e Maltese companies examined in this re- search only pursued working flexibility in making the start and finish times of work less rigid and acknowledged that remote work was only granted to those with a 'valid'reason, such as to parents or guardians of children, or to those who have caring duties for their elderly parents. Conversely, the German counterparts reported a wider, more flexible, and non-discriminatory use of remote work. Remote work for Employers After two years of pandemic, in which remote work suddenly became a wide- spread business practice, German com- panies report major gains in productivi- ty, a result attributed by the interviewed company representatives to a decrease in interruptions and 'chit chat' associat- ed with office open spaces. Interesting- ly, their Maltese counterparts reported approximately the same levels of pro- duction as before the pandemic. What explains this divergence? Re- mote working has generally led workers to work more efficiently and effectively, facilitated by the digitisation of business processes and the use of online tools such as instant messaging and online meeting facilities, which decrease in- terruptions associated with visiting col- leagues or travelling for meetings. is also led to a reduction in company costs and overhead, also cited as a top benefit by both Maltese and German compa- nies. e success of remote work-led Ger- man concerns to abandon plans to move to bigger office spaces. Both na- tional counterparts report that better flexibility increased workers' happiness, which they hope will help retention in an industry plagued by labour shortag- es. However, despite the multitude of benefits resulting fromthese new forms of flexibility, Maltese companies lagged behind their German counterparts in the institutionalisation of new practic- es, with some still requiring employ- ees to start their working day at a fixed time, even if working remotely. On the other hand, the drawbacks to remote work reported by Maltese com- panies were found to be similar to the worries expressed by German firms. First, the lack of interaction between staff members was paradoxically cited as a major drawback, with the decrease of interactions negatively impacting creativity and innovation. e lack of 'office bonding' also contributes to a culture of individualism, which frag- ments the workforce due to a lack of work relationships, and which in turn is tied to a decrease in workers' ambition. Second, mental health is also cited as a major concern, with companies naming employee burnout as a growing prob- lem. Finally, the lack of managerial control is a worry shared by both Maltese and German executives, with interviews re- vealing rising complaints about off-site staff relying on on-site staff to carry out duties for them. Remote work for the employees Across the board, trade unions cover- ing the ICT sector acknowledged that remote work brings a multitude of op- portunities and risks that vary accord- ing to the personal characteristics and occupational position of employees. For employees, remote work promises greater time and location flexibility, in- creased autonomy, enhanced work-life balance, and a reduction in commuting time. It may also provide better employ- ment opportunities for people with car- ing responsibilities. However, with higher autonomy, re- mote work is also shown to lead to an in- crease of stress (and even longer work- ing hours) owing to an intensification of self-discipline – also referred to as the "autonomy paradox", in which highly selfmotivated workers push themselves harder than their direct superiors. As a result, those remote workers find it difficult to manage boundaries be- tween work and family time and to cope with long hours, a worry that company representatives share. e lack of space and ergonom- ic equipment at home also increas- es workers' health risks – an issue for companies who must abide by health and safety laws in this new configura- tion – as well as increasing social iso- lation and loneliness associated with a lack of faceto-face interactions, which negatively affects mental health. Crucially, the data that emerged from the interviews with employers and trade unions suggest a general agree- ment: that a hybrid work model is the most ideal and likely scenario for the