Working from home is here to stay
20/10/2022
Translation: Eva Francis
Flexibility and autonomy have gained importance at work. At Digitec Galaxus, it's no exception. Working from home and working part-time are two ways to offer employees more flexibility. I wanted to know how established working from home is – and visited our engineering department to find out.
A good wage isn’t all that counts nowadays. Flexible working hours, the possibility to work from home, work part-time and have opportunities for further training are just as important. This is also underlined by the latest Universum Ranking survey. The employer branding agency surveyed 10,593 students from 148 different fields of study enrolled at a Swiss university. 61 percent of students in Switzerland look out for flexible working models, especially remote working options, when looking for a job. In IT, having the option of working from home is the most important criterion for as many as 80 per cent of students.
Recently, there have been more and more reports in the media about companies that are limiting time spent working from home or even eliminating it altogether. A while ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also declared the Corona crisis and the remote work options that come with it to be a thing of the past. These reports, paired with the study results, made me think: didn’t the pandemic prove that working from home can work? After more than two years of it, we’re used to working remotely – and have had our share of funny (and not so funny) software issues.
So I decided to dig deeper. How well established is working from home with our IT experts? And what about part-time work? I visited our engineering department to find answers to these questions.
Flexible working conditions to match any lifestyle
Michael Hardegger leads an engineering team and has been working four days a week (80%) since October 2020. «I always knew I wanted to have a daddy’s day if I had kids. Fortunately, reducing from 100% to 80% was no problem at all, and working from home has been part of everyday life at Digitec Galaxus since the pandemic started», he says. He works from home most days and goes into the office one or two days a week. «This works well with the team and I really appreciate the variety,» he adds. On home office days, he always has breakfast with his older daughter and then retreats to his office, where he can work without being interrupted – most of the time: «My older daughter recently learned how to open doors, so she visits me from time to time», Michael adds and laughs. Balancing work life and family life isn’t always easy, but working from home and part-time make it a little easier for him. He’s very happy with his working situation: «My employer also benefits from it. Often, the distance helps me come up with new ideas and approaches to tackle challenges at work.»
Kako Ko also works part-time – three days a week (60%). She’s a Business Intelligence Specialist. Kako works from home two days a week and goes into the Zurich office once a week. «On home office days, I don’t need to commute and can use the time I gain for household chores or to take a longer lunch break. I really appreciate that,» she says. Kako is very grateful to her team and her team leader, who pulled out all the stops to make it possible for her to work 60%. «While this model requires very good planning and isn’t without challenges,» she says, «it wouldn’t be possible for me to work at the moment if I didn’t have these flexible options and reduced working hours. I have two small children who I want to be there for. Crèches are very expensive and my family don’t live nearby. So I’m super happy with this solution.»
Mark Odermatt works full-time as a Domain Architect and also enjoys the benefits of working from home. Before the pandemic, he’d been used to commuting 1h 20min one way and was away from home almost all day. «I’d got used to that. But now I’m happy that on most days, I switch off my computer and am with my family five minutes later,» he says. Working remotely gives him even more advantages: «I have many meetings and used to be late a lot, as I needed to change rooms or even buildings. That’s much easier in a remote setup.» He’s in the Zurich office once a week and appreciates seeing people, as the classic coffee break chats are still the best.
Concentration and creativity
«We want our employees to work in a place where they can concentrate and come up with creative ideas with team members or partners. We’ve realised this might be at their desk at home one day and in the company offices another day,» Rebekka Fricke, Leader People & Organisational Development, states. «One team day per week where everyone is in the office makes sure people see each other regularly,» she adds. «However, the challenges of hybrid work shouldn’t be underestimated. We’re committed to offering our employees and team leaders support when it comes to creating a good hybrid work environment.» Asked about part-time work, Rebekka says: «We’re open to it. As a rule, working four days a week is always possible; fewer hours a week by arrangement.» In each case, the company attempts to find the best possible solution for all parties involved.
My initial curiosity is satisfied. As I see it, the new work habits seem to be an integral part of everyday office life at Digitec Galaxus. And by the way, dear Tesla employees, if you don’t agree with Elon Musk’s home office ban, here are our vacancies. At Digitec Galauxus, working from home is here to stay.
Seraina Cadonau
Communications Manager
Seraina.Cadonau@digitecgalaxus.chHappy nature and big fan of the mountains.
