The Swatch Group recently decided to close all its coworking spaces in French-speaking Switzerland which allowed remote working. The decision dismays the employees affected. On the executive side, there is fear that the measure will drive away valuable employees.
Since last year, Swatch Group marketing or IT employees have been able to work close to home in coworking rather than going to Bienne, Saint-Imier or Le Locle. The multinational watchmaker, however, backtracked a few days ago.
This decision goes down very badly internally, as testified to RTS by an employee who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job: “Around me, people are revolted, they feel misunderstood. My idea of making a good part of my career in the group is in question.”
When contacted, the Swatch Group agreed in writing to close its coworking spaces. “After a period of experimental testing of the concept on different sites, we decided not to continue the experiment. It turns out that this type of remote work is not conducive to team work. ).”
Fears of executives
The Swatch Group, which employs 16,000 people in Switzerland, adds that if its employees consider “that it is too complicated to have to travel for a few minutes to go to work, they are free to make their choice”.
Several executives of the multinational, devastated by this decision, fear that employees will decide to leave the company. In writing to avoid being recognized, a responsible person says he fears for the group’s subsidiaries.
“[La décision] risks causing the departure of some of their employees who will find the possibility of coworking or teleworking with another employer. In the current state of the job market, it is very difficult to recruit profiles who are used to benefiting from these advantages and who systematically claim them when hiring.”
Labor shortage
The Swiss Employers’ Union shares this analysis, as companies face a historic labor shortage. “We see that employers are in a situation where absolutely everything must be done to build loyalty, to attract talent,” explains Marco Taddei, French-speaking director of the Swiss Employers’ Union, in the 7:30 p.m.
“And one of the levers on which we can act is to actually offer teleworking to job candidates. This proposal is generally very appreciated, at least in Switzerland according to surveys.”
Most watch groups competing with the Swatch Group also offer remote working to their employees.
Gabriel de Weck/asch
