Three years after the pandemic, some companies want to reduce remote work

Margaux Fodéré / photo credit: LOIC VENANCE / AFP 07:45, August 21, 2023

Back to school is approaching for many of you. Will you return to face-to-face or remote work? According to a study by the German Economic Institute Ifo and Econpol Europe, French employers are among the most resistant to teleworking. The French telework on average 0.6 days per week compared to 1.4 days for English-speaking countries (Canada, United Kingdom, United States and Australia). Three years after the pandemic, more and more companies want to see their employees on site, especially to promote interactions.

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Developing a "sense of belonging"

In this Paris-based company, whether in the financial department, in the marketing team or in human resources, all the missions of these positions could be carried out remotely. Yet today, in the middle of summer, the offices of this company are occupied. "We are ten employees on site with about five employees who are teleworking. We are really on a higher face-to-face ratio than before," explains Amir Kasmi, financial manager at this energy comparator.

During the pandemic, the company allowed several days of telework per week. But in the past six months, it has been recalling its employees more often to the office at the head office, and to the call centers. "We need sales representatives on our call centers. For new employees, we want to immediately develop this sense of belonging," he continues.

"It's very important for me to do face-to-face"

To instill the culture of face-to-face, each new recruit must spend four months on site. Raphaël, an intern, is very happy to be in the office every day, although he recognizes that teleworking also has its advantages. "It saves time, especially for transport. But it's true that as this is my first internship in finance, it's very important for me to do face-to-face," he admits.

Remaking face-to-face the norm is therefore the objective of this company, even if it knows that it is sometimes necessary to show flexibility to recruit on certain positions, such as developers, more accustomed to teleworking.