Possibility to work from home reduced for financial sector employees

His point is that, in some places, the rollback of homeworking is more about the 'number of days spent in the office' than the number of days spent working from home. This means that if you have a meeting with a client, are taking a course or are working from other locations, you lose the option of working from home, because the number of days you must be present at the office is set in stone.  

And that, in turn, means that flexibility in the job is gone, believes Jakob Thorgaard. 

“It’s not at all about the number of days. It’s about how management deals with the issue so that it works well for both the business and the employees. You don’t do that by putting everyone on the same schedule and settling up every Friday,” he says.  

Affects well-being 

The survey also reveals that reducing the number of days spent working from home has a direct and measurable impact on well-being. 

In fact, well-being drops significantly among employees who have experienced a reduced possibility of working from home. Only 20 per cent of them feel happy – which is half as many as in the group whose possibilities have not changed and the group who still enjoy the same options as before. 

“It’s a huge problem when it affects well-being. Employers need to take this seriously,” says Jakob Thorgaard.

Desire for more work from home 

Recently, several major organisations have pulled their employees back to the office. As an example, Maersk recently announced that all of the group’s employees would be required to work at the office five days a week. Novo Nordisk made the same announcement last year.  
And in the financial sector, too, working from home is on the decline.

Nykredit for example changed its policy from allowing two days of work from home per week to requiring employees to be in the office at least four days a week. 

The results of the well-being survey reveals a significant disconnect between members’ wishes and the reality they face. 60 per cent are satisfied with the degree to which they may work from home, but just over a third of survey respondents say they would like to work from home more often. 

“I hope employers realise just how much this means to their employees,” says Jakob Thorgaard, referring to a survey conducted last year by Epinion on behalf of Finansforbundet. 

43 per cent of respondents said they would consider finding a new job or actively look for one if they experienced reduced possibilities of working from home. 

“We know that organisations are focused on retaining and attracting employees. Therefore, they should really consider just how much flexibility actually matters,” says the vice-president.