Containment has generalized the practice of telework. But this could have important consequences for executives and engineers in the future. According to reports from several economists, some companies could take the opportunity to relocate jobs to less expensive areas.
Will teleworking work against managers and engineers? According to several economists, the boom in telework could cause a large movement of relocation of "white-collar workers".
With confinement, we have clearly seen that engineers and managers could very well work remotely, in Normandy, in Burgundy, or even why not in Tunisia or Morocco. Well, here we are, opening Pandora's box. Princeton University (United States) explains that a third of graduate jobs can be done remotely.
But reassure me, for the moment no company has yet considered relocating managers or engineers in this way?
Yes, Facebook, but without really saying it. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg said that within five to ten years, half of his employees would be telecommuting. And he added that, of course, the salary will depend on his place of residence. Clearly, if you live in the countryside, you will earn less than in San Francisco where real estate is very expensive.
You see, teleworking is seen as a tool that saves money, by moving intellectual activity, in regions, countries, at low cost. So, yes, we can be worried, the Mercer cabinet publishes this Tuesday a study which shows that Paris and Lyon are among the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. These skilled jobs may well disappear.
Yes, but we know that telework also has limits. You can't do everything from a distance.
Exactly. This is what is reassuring. And imagine that Michel Barnier has just proved it. Michel Barnier is the one who negotiates Brexit on behalf of the European Union, an ultra-technical dossier. And in Le Figaro this weekend, he explains that at the moment, negotiations are taking place by videoconference. And it is not progressing because, he says, it is "in a corridor, or around a cafe" that we manage to unlock complicated situations.
So much the better, at some point, you have to see yourself to be creative and imaginative. So proximity, the "face-to-face" as they say, will not totally disappear.