The public service, a poor student when it comes to teleworking

Teleworking is "not an option", it must be "the rule".

The words of the Minister of Labor Élisabeth Borne pronounced last week, the day after the announcement of the reconfinement, are perfectly clear.

Yet the government is up against a handful of resistant companies.

He is therefore preparing to toughen up his tone, in particular with sanctions that could fall as early as next week.

But among the bad students, there is one that is rather discreet: the public service.

So far, only one in three civil servants is able to work remotely, partially or completely.

A figure much lower than that of the first confinement against the coronavirus.

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"A margin of progress" ...

At that time, almost half of the agents could telecommute.

The other half was obviously, and still is, made up of agents whose activities cannot be carried out by teleworking, hospital staff or even police officers for example.

But there is "a margin of progress", we recognize in the entourage of Amélie de Montchalin.

The Minister of Public Service has however published a circular on this subject, recalling that teleworking was not reserved for private companies and that administrations should also get started.

Except that unlike the first confinement, the counters of public services are open this time, which logically lowers the share of teleworking agents.  

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... and a rise in power

However, the government notes a rise in power.

This is evidenced by the use of the "State network", a platform where agents can notably access their professional mailbox: in 15 days, it has increased by 40%.

The level of equipment of agents, IT in mind, has also improved.

Today, a quarter of civil servants, excluding National Education, are equipped to telework 100%.

While half of them can work partially from home.

Geographic disparities 

On the side of local communities, a big effort has been made.

"Many took advantage of the few months of spring and summer to strengthen themselves in material", explains Philippe Laurent, mayor of Sceaux, in Hauts-de-Seine, and president of the Superior Council of the territorial public service. 

In metropolitan areas, the rate of public service employees working from home is more than 50%.

And for good reason, explains Philippe Laurent, "the metropolises outsource their missions more to private companies".

“In the municipalities, it is our agents who take care of green spaces, for example,” he explains.

For his town of Sceaux, the mayor considers that only one in four civil servants can telework.  

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Lack of a remote work culture 

Still, the public service seems to be lagging behind on this subject.

And the cause goes deeper than a simple delay in computer equipment.

According to an elected member of the CFDT Civil Service, "there is no culture of remote work".

Of course, the first confinement made it possible to develop "good practices".

"Some managers have been trained but it is always hard because there is no real organization of telework in the public service."

And the short time between the two confinements was not enough to remedy it.  

She also deplores the difficulty of establishing "trust management".

According to the elected representative, some managers persist in thinking that the agent is less productive at home than within the walls of his administration.

In an attempt to resolve these blockages, the Ministry of Public Service organizes weekly meetings with the unions but also with the general secretaries of the ministries.

"We are putting the pressure," says an adviser to Minister Amélie de Montchalin.

The government intends to capitalize on these two confinements to create a dynamic within the public service.

A budget of 200 million euros is also provided for this purpose as part of the recovery plan.

At the beginning of 2021, negotiations on teleworking - like that carried out in the private sector - should begin.