Sympathy better than carrot and stick.

– This is partly due to the fact that the university must be able to fulfil its health and safety obligations and that the remote workplace must be insured.

Dick Stenmark explains that the policy is intended to support employees. – Some managers are opposed to employees relocating working hours to their home. But according to this document, anyone who has a need or desire to work elsewhere should be allowed to do so, unless of course it is incompatible with the work they are carrying out. If a lot of people choose to work in another location, however, it can be a sign of problems in the workplace and then it is the manager's duty to do something about it. It should feel meaningful to come to work, and be enjoyable to meet colleagues.

Other higher education institutions have roughly the same rules as the University of Gothenburg, Tommy Christensen points out. – It is probably due to similar circumstances and needs in the organisation that government agencies have to manage.

But according to this document, anyone who has a need or desire to work elsewhere should be allowed to do so.

DICK STENMARK

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Shutterstock

FACTS

On November 4, the Vice-Chancellor adopted the policy document Riktlinjer avseende distansarbete och tillfälligt hemarbete för teknisk och administrativ personal (Guidelines regarding remote working and temporary home working for technical and administrative staff).. Among other things, remote working may encompass a maximum of 40 percent of an employee’s working hours and the employee and manager must draw up a written agreement.

Back to work? This is how you cope!

The pandemic is still holding us in its grip, but eventually, going back to your workplace will be required of you.

Many employees may feel both anxious and uneasy about this prospect. – Coercion and control only lead to resistance, it is better to show understanding, explains health psychologist Magnus Lindwall.

THERE ARE SEVERAL reasons to feel uncomfortable about returning to the workplace, Magnus Lindwall explains. – Of course, some people have a good reason to be worried, because they belong to a risk group, for example. Media reporting can also create anxiety. But even those who are not directly worried may be hesitant to once again have to rush to work, find time for various meetings and be faced with new social contacts.

Magnus Lindwall believes that both managers and colleagues must be understanding about the fact that some people may need time to adjust. – Whatever you might think of Sweden's way of dealing with the pandemic, it was, in any case, in line with what behavioural research tells us: Freedom of choice makes people take responsibility, coercion leads to a backlash. A carrot and stick approach can work in an emergency, but in the long run, new demands must be based on people perceiving them as reasonable.

THEREFORE, IT IS IMPORTANT to create rules that provide some individual freedom. At the same time, employees must also feel that they are being treated fairly, says Magnus Lindwall. – It will not make for a pleasant working environment if some employees are allowed to work from home as much as they want while others are not. Instead, it is important to set up a framework for working from home: as long as you stick to the rules, the employee should be able to decide for themselves.

It is also important for managers to be sympathetic. – This may require both energy and time. But employees who feel that they have been listened to, even if they do not really get what they want, are so much easier to work with than employees who feel that they are being forced back to the workplace, especially if working from home has worked well for them.