Faced with the rebound of the Covid-19 epidemic, the government is calling on the French to resume teleworking at least four days a week.

Since the start of the crisis, the civil service has lagged behind in its adaptation.

But in a year, significant efforts have been made, both on the pace and on the equipment of officials.

At least four days of telework per week: the rule, clear, was recalled by the government on March 18 to stem the new wave of Covid-19.

An instruction valid for the whole of France, not only in the departments subject to confinement.

It addresses, of course, to companies but also to the public service.

State officials are lagging behind companies: only 55% of them telework at least one day a week (excluding police officers and teachers).

Admittedly, they were only 40% during the first confinement, a sign of progress.

But the government is asking for more.

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No more telecommuting and more controls

In fact, most officials received, after Jean Castex's last press conference, an email asking them to do more teleworking.

“Since the new braking measures, I am no longer than one day a week at the office,” says Europe 1 Cécile, an official in the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in Lille.

"In recent weeks, it was more 50-50, in line with the second confinement. While during the first, I was 100% teleworking. And before, I had never done one."

A return to more teleworking which does not necessarily enchant the civil servant.

"One or two days a week, it's comfortable, it makes my life a little easier since it saves me having to take the train every morning. But all week, it's heavy. When you work in a team with colleagues, it's more difficult. We also lose the atmosphere that is created in the office. We keep the link by message but it is not the same thing, "said Cécile.

And no way to cheat: "On Friday, we have to send our schedule for the following week. And when we come to the office, we have to clock in, so it's controlled."

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Better and better equipped officials

Cécile has nevertheless got used to teleworking, in particular because she is well equipped.

"I have nothing to complain about, I was given a laptop computer as soon as I took up my post. And when the confinement started last March, I was given a second screen so that I didn't not to work on a small screen. I have friends who are not so lucky, it depends on the ministries or the types of public service, "she emphasizes.

In fact, the equipment was the black spot of the public service during the first confinement.

"We started from scratch. We were taken aback, we weren't very organized, some had laptops, some didn't," recalls Audrey, who works in the IT department of a department of the Insee, in Lyon.

"We took advantage of the deconfinement to try to equip as many people as possible. As soon as someone came back to the office, we took the opportunity to transfer their files. Today, 90% of people in our region are equipped with a laptop."

The habit of teleworking is there, not the rhythm

For Audrey, "civil servants, like employees in the private sector, have become accustomed to teleworking now".

"It was hard for a few months but now it's going well. There are always small problems with IT, that's normal, but people are more and more autonomous," she says.

This does not prevent the machine from taking a little time to restart.

In central state administrations (mainly ministries), 73.6% of agents telework at least 1 day per week but only 20% at least four days.

Aware that we must set an example in this difficult period, the Ministry of Transformation and the Civil Service has sent a slogan to millions of civil servants: "if you telework one day a week, you can telecommute for at least four days ".

Instructions to which Cécile therefore complies at her home in the Lille region.

She can already see herself continuing to telework once the health crisis is over: "it would be good to have a little flexibility, to be able to do one or two days a week on a voluntary basis, that would please me".