1996 - European Telework Week

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Telework 96 2.4. Legal, Organisational and Management Issues in Telework. New Ways to Work in the Virtual European Company 2.4.1. Flexible employment Telework can help introduce new flexibility into employment. The removal of obstacles inhibiting teleworking activities is essential for the creation of "virtual businesses," with fully integrated activities, which could be distributed throughout the European Economic Area, thus supporting the consolidation of the European internal market. In order to complement the stimulation of transborder telework through demonstration projects, indepth analyses have been carried out with respect to management, labour relations and legal issues. The main recommendations of these analyses by the COBRA, ATTICA and PRACTICE projects are summarised in this report. Telework can help introduce new flexibility into employment. The main areas of potential application are currently in data and text processing (50%); programming (40%); writing, editing, translating and accounting (30%); secretarial functions (20%); marketing and training (15%) and research/consultancy activities (14%) 11 . The term teleworking covers a wide range of activities: it includes home teleworking, satellite centre working, (where an office provides the means for one firm's employees to work at a distance from the firm), telecentre working, (where an office is shared by several firms), distance group working and teleservices provision as in telesecretariats, and telemaintenance. The main areas of potential application are currently in data and text processing (50%); programming (40%); writing, editing, translating and accounting (30%); secretarial functions (20%); marketing and training (15%) and research/consultancy activities (14%) 1 . 2.4.2. Customer Driven Business Organisation Since the beginning of the 1990s, a revolution in business organisation has been sweeping Europe. Corporations have been adopting a new US management technique called business process re-engineering (BPR). BPR as a way of re-organising business around processes rather than functions. This leads to a more focused customer-driven organisation and which is also usually accompanied by the contracting out of what are called non-core activities. Since the beginning of the 1990s, a revolution in business organisation has been sweeping Europe. BPR is a way of re-organising business around processes rather than functions. BPR produces greater flexibility, which is achieved through the use of part-timers, associates and outsourced workers; whose membership is flexible and temporary. A key result is that companies can react to external pressures more rapidly, bringing in skills at 11 Telework: Penetration, Potential and Practice in Europe, final report of project TELDET, July 1995 - 38 -
Telework 96 critical times on ad hoc basis. Companies that have engaged in the BPR process become slimmer, flatter with fewer layers of management. They depend also on advanced communications systems enabling location independent work. At the heart of both BPR and Telework lies a greater use of IT and telecommunications systems, with work being distributed among networks of people and individuals. These are key features of re-engineered businesses, conducive to teleworking: The shift from simple tasks to multi-dimensional work; the performance focus from presence to results, empowerment and location independence. At the heart of both BPR and Telework lies a greater use of IT and telecommunications systems, with work being distributed among networks of people and individuals. As the structure of organisations changes so does the structure of work. Teleworking is part of the new way of working in modern enterprises. One major contrast exists however: decisions to implement BPR are taken at strategic and high levels of management, whereas telework tends to be initiated by personnel departments at relatively low levels of management. If telework is to be used as a flexible tool for reorganisation, it needs a focus at strategic levels of management. 2.4.3. New opportunities Research in the USA suggests that BPR creates new enterprises and new jobs - often involving teleworkers. Teleworking itself also opens up new opportunities for more work for disadvantaged people and for disadvantaged regions by allowing people to earn a living near home rather than having to travel to a city centre. However, traditional Labour unions feel threatened by teleworking. Where lost jobs have been replaced by part-time or self employed teleworkers, trade unions in Europe have been concerned. Teleworking must not become a means by which firms by-pass good employment practice. In addition, teleworking and the rise of self-employed/part-time/contract working raises important questions for social welfare policies. A much more fluid workforce will require different social benefits systems. If telework is to be used as a flexible tool for reorganisation, it needs a focus at strategic levels of management. Research in the USA suggests that BPR creates new enterprises and new jobs - often involving teleworkers. Teleworking requires a highly skilled workforce. Therefore in those societies where there is an educational and skills gulf between the skilled and the unskilled teleworking could well result in an even greater proportion of work flowing towards the better educated and better skilled populace and away from those who lack the requisite qualifications. This problem can be compounded by national welfare systems which are largely founded on the premise that people work fulltime or not at all. Individual companies and governments policy makers need to prepare for the age of teleworking. Individuals should be encouraged to re-train with teleworking in mind, and companies that are reducing their core workforce as a result of BPR should offer to prepare and equip redundant workers with at least some of the skills that they will require in order to telework outside the new core. For governments the key issues in this context will be a) how to adjust their education and training programmes to a much - 39 -
Page 1 and 2: Actions for stimulation of transbor
Page 3 and 4: Foreword FOREWORD Today telework is
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS M
Page 7 and 8: Table of contents TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 9 and 10: Table of contents 4. TELEWORK UNDER
Page 11 and 12: Telework 96 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Wh
Page 13 and 14: Telework 96 So is the “ACTS Telew
Page 15 and 16: Telework 96 2. TELEWORK STIMULATION
Page 17 and 18: Telework 96 Evolution of the n° of
Page 19 and 20: Telework 96 EMPLOYMENT CREATION. It
Page 21 and 22: Telework 96 2.2. The employment and
Page 23 and 24: Telework 96 need to be balanced and
Page 25 and 26: Telework 96 1. An opening into the
Page 27 and 28: Telework 96 Global trends such as d
Page 29 and 30: Telework 96 • the percentage of v
Page 31 and 32: Telework 96 in many labour-intensiv
Page 33 and 34: Telework 96 competition authorities
Page 35 and 36: Telework 96 The UK and France are t
Page 37: Telework 96 The telework demand fig
Page 41 and 42: Telework 96 The present tax laws in
Page 43 and 44: Telework 96 2.5. Telework and Small
Page 45 and 46: Telework 96 ‘smallness’ of any
Page 47 and 48: Telework 96 • Grouping SMEs regio
Page 49 and 50: Telework 96 2.6.2. Telecentres and
Page 51 and 52: Telework 96 The TWIN pilot sites, t
Page 53 and 54: Telework 96 2.7.3. Maximising the a
Page 55 and 56: Telework 96 2.7.5. Using technology
Page 57 and 58: Telework 96 3. EUROPEAN TELEWORK WE
Page 59 and 60: Telework 96 Germany Irish Teleworki
Page 61 and 62: Telework 96 In all, the media relat
Page 63 and 64: Telework 96 In Sweden, where nation
Page 65 and 66: Telework 96 4. TELEWORK UNDER THE A
Page 67 and 68: Telework 96 4.2.3. Planned Output f
Page 69 and 70: Telework 96 AC 028 TOBASCO - Toward
Page 71 and 72: Telework 96 AC075 EIES - European I
Page 73 and 74: Telework 96 AC114 SMARTS - SME and
Page 75 and 76: Telework 96 Special attention is ne
Page 77 and 78: The development of EU actions to st
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Page 81 and 82: ACTS and the Chain Concertation Mec
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Participants In Telework Initiative
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Publications Annex 4 ANNEX 4 PUBLIC
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Publications Annex 4 1. PUBLICATION
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Publications Annex 4 T1020 La Gacet
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Publications Annex 4 2. PUBLICATION
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Network Sources of Published Inform
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Network Sources of Published Inform
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1996 - European Telework Week

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