For some time now, you have been able to check the box “Working from home possible” on the Confederation’s job search site. And the number of positions for which it is possible to telework – from time to time or regularly – is significantly greater than it once was and is no longer limited to administrative positions alone. Around half of the 400 currently vacant positions offer this option. And this even in key sectors such as justice, politics, asylum and even security, shows an analysis by the “SonntagsZeitung”.
Civil servants largely appreciate the possibility of working from home, according to a recent internal survey: almost three quarters of the nearly 40,000 current federal civil servants, including executives, use it regularly. Thus, the offer for the position of human resources director of the Federal Office of Culture online currently offers teleworking. And for the army, the Confederation is looking for the future “Chief Situation Monitoring Officer” who can also work from home.
Bern does not have a detailed overview of the number of civil servants who telework, nor the percentage and number of days they do so. However, during the last major staff survey, carried out at the end of 2023, 83% of respondents said they had the possibility of working mobile, and 74% used it.
The same survey further revealed that “workplace flexibility and the way it is managed show that employees have learned to use mobile working to their advantage and enjoy it over the past few years.” At the same time, it allowed them to better reconcile professional and private life.
The private economy tends to reduce teleworking
In the private economy, the country’s large companies have tended to limit teleworking since the end of the pandemic, notes the “SonntagsZeitung”. Novartis thus extolled its merits “forever and for all”, but now requires more presence in the office. And at Sulzer and Schindler, the rules regarding teleworking have been further tightened.
At the international level, Amazon put an end to the home office at the end of 2024. According to Andy Jassy, director of the group, working together would be more efficient and would bring teams closer together. And at UPS or Boeing, certain groups of employees are now also required to go to the office on a daily basis.
