Events

Telework has become a regular feature of work organisation after the COVID-19 pandemic - mainly in hybrid form. In the study 'TWING. Exploring the contribution of social dialogue and collective bargaining in the promotion of decent and productive telework in the post-Covid scenario' covering Austria, Estonia, Finland, Spain, Poland, Portugal, we explored the experience of remote working enforced by the sanitary regime and also in the period immediately after the pandemic.

Employees appreciated the greater flexibility in arranging tasks during the day or saving time on commuting, on the other hand, there were problems with the proper preparation of workstations at home, including those related to hardware, software, data security, as well as health and safety. In the context of telework, there is more and more talk about the paradox of the balance between life and work: teleworking was supposed to make it easier to reconcile home and work responsibilities, and the result are blurring boundaries between these spheres, including overtime and work in non-standard hours. Working in front of a screen for long periods of time and a sedentary lifestyle can also lead to negative health consequences: muscoskeletal pains, headaches, vision problems, and of a psychological nature - a sense of isolation, loneliness, which in the long term can lead to depression. Telework also poses challenges for organising workers in trade unions. 

So, after being initially enthused by teleworking and its benefits, are workers in Europe going through a disillusionment? What can be done to make the most of these benefits while minimising the negative consequences? What can be done in terms of public policies and what is the role of the social partners?

We will discuss the paradoxes and illusions of telework at the Institute of Public Affairs with reference to the main results of the TWING project together with invited guests.


Agenda 

11.00 – 11.05            Welcome, Dominik Owczarek, Institute of Public Affairs
11.05 – 11.20            Introduction to TWING project – key results, Pablo Sanz, NOTUS

11.20 – 13.00         Panel discussion
Moderation: Sanna Saksela-Bergholm, University of Jyväskylä

Nuno Boavida, NOTUS
Philipp Brokes, AK Wien 
Maurizio Curtarelli, EU-OSHA
Paulina Barańska, University of Warsaw, NSZZ “Solidarność”

Q/A + Joint discussion (30 minutes)


English and Polish interpretation will be provided. 




The panel discussion will be carried out as a part of the 2nd Scientific Meeting in the project “TWING. Exploring the contribution of social dialogue and collective bargaining in the promotion of decent and productive telework in the post-Covid scenario” (GA no. 101052332)