“Working from home is neither a right nor a duty,” emphasises Jan Smits, dean of the Faculty of Law and chairman of the working group The Future of Working@UM. It is up to every employee to determine for themselves what feels right. There is a guideline: three days at the UM and two days at home in the case of a full-time appointment. For some positions, that will be difficult (for caretakers, laboratory assistants or receptionists, for example). “It will always be tailored to everybody’s individual situation,” Smits states. Arrangements will be laid down in a so-called Hybrid Working Agreement. “A type of contract” including things like days on which one works from home, working hours, home working compensation, travelling expenses. “This will make everything clear.”
Also, it depends on where one lives just how much one can work from home. A considerable number of Dutch employees live in Belgium or Germany. As long as they physically work at the UM, they have social security and are liable to pay tax in the Netherlands, but it becomes more complicated when they work in two countries. “That is why we need to look at each situation separately.”
Autonomy
COVID-19 accelerated working from home, says Smits, “but some units already had an informal policy on working from home for academic staff.” Now there is a plan for all employees, “a step in modern employment practice”. It is especially the balance that is important, between on the one hand the autonomy of the employee, that you can to a large extent determine your own working hours, where and how you set your work up”, and on the other hand the interests of the organisation. “The latter must be a priority.”
Voucher
A survey was held among UM staff last spring. Two thousand people answered a variety of questions about the new working situation. According to Smits, the majority’s greatest need was for a decent desk and a laptop for at home, at the expense of the UM. “The university can’t do otherwise because of its duty of care for a health-and-safety-proof working space at home. Our proposal is that employees with an appointment for more than 0.4 FTE and who have a contract for longer than a year, should receive a voucher for a maximum amount that they could spend on a desk, chair, monitor, keyboard and mouse.”
Tender
In a UM communication e-mail that was sent last week, the Executive Board wrote that the European invitation to tender for setting up home workspaces had been launched. That procedure will last until the end of the year. “Only when the costs have been transparently combined with the experiences that we are now gaining with hybrid working, can decisions be made for the future,” said the Board. Because one thing is certain, the executives realise: “Setting up workspaces at home will cost a pretty penny.”
Another question that plays a role here is: Will the office equipment be given on loan or will it become the property of the employee? The working group leans more towards the latter. “Then the UM doesn’t need to think about it after that.”
Furthermore, Smits and the members of the working group argue for a “digital workspace”: laptop, mobile telephone as well as a telephone subscription. Those appliances would be used both at home and at the office. The telephone could in time replace the UM card.
Losing out
“A theme such as new style of working is comprehensive; it doesn’t just have legal and financial consequences, but also social.” The latter must not be underestimated, Smits thinks. “You don’t want people to feel that they are no longer part of a team or feel like they are losing out, because they are not at the faculty. It is all about personal contact.” There is an important role here for ‘the boss’. “He or she must ensure that everybody feels involved. That is easier when people meet physically than at a distance via Zoom or Teams.” As far as Smits is concerned, management should have more faith and feel less need to check up. “Over the past eighteen months, we have realised that this way works.” A Leadership Development working group is currently investigating the new qualities that managers should have and compulsory training that goes with that.
Housing plan
A last, “rather sensitive” subject is the use of university buildings. “Some people claim that they have a right to a personal workspace, but that right doesn’t exist. In addition, there is generally less need for this, our survey showed. We need to look at how we use the space more efficiently, for example by creating more places to hold meetings or just get together.” The working group suggests therefore that every faculty and unit should develop a new housing plan.