*Update 09.10.2023 please participate in the Commission survey on the environmental impact of teleworking: deadline 11.10.2023. These emmissions must also be counted in greening the Commission!**Update November 2022, we have republished this survey in order to make a comparison, please participate!* *Update March 2022: 1193 colleagues responded to our additional teleworking costs survey: only 2.85% saw no utility-bill increase. With 27% of respondents seeing their monthly bills increase by a total of 51-100 EUR.* Continue reading The hidden costs of teleworking – and now energy prices!
additional teleworking costs
The ‘new normal’: is this it? FAQs 28.10.2021
*Update 13.03.2023 here are the results of our June 2022 survey!*
*This FAQ replaces the 11.10.2021 version*
28.10.2021 we had one more social dialogue meeting on the latest working time and hybrid working rules. HR stated that this is the last meeting on this topic. As before, there are many questions still outstanding on how this ‘new normal’ Continue reading The ‘new normal’: is this it? FAQs 28.10.2021
The ‘new normal’: is this it? FAQs 11.10.2021
*This FAQs is superseded by 28.10.2021 version*
We had the second of a proposed two social dialogue meetings on the implementation of working time and hybrid working yesterday (Monday 11.10.2021). HR agreed to a third meeting: there are many questions still outstanding Continue reading The ‘new normal’: is this it? FAQs 11.10.2021
Digital overload, burnout and back to the office
*Update 04.01.2024 Even in 2016 smartphones were seen to add 11 hours of work to the average week.* Original article: We invite you to participate in our survey on workload, digital overload and burnout. The Working time and hybrid working decision (issued July 2021) setting out the proposed ‘new normal’ with its ‘disconnection bandwidth’ is still under discussion (follow-up meeting with HR 8 September) and we’d like to have your most recent, post-summertime input, especially in light of the move to Phase 3 of the return to the office strategy announced for Monday 20 September for all Commission sites [1]. Continue reading Digital overload, burnout and back to the office
‘Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest: winners!
Thanks to all of you who submitted photos of your home-office/kitchen-table/cupboard-under-the-stairs/garden IT setup and your increased bills and accommodation costs. We always appreciate your interaction and comments and you can still send us your teleworking photos and evidence of costs incurred: let us know where and how you are working! Continue reading ‘Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest: winners!
Welcome to ‘The Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest
*We would still like to receive your pics and stories*
Still working at the kitchen table after 13 months? Your bills increased exponentially? Cannot afford a decent home office with your salary?
If all of this sound familiar, it is time to participate in our photography contest!
Send us pictures of your home office set-up, your bills before and after compulsory teleworking started Continue reading Welcome to ‘The Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest
Home-office equipment dilemma: zero clarity
Following the announcement by Commissioner Hahn and DG HR of a move to help staff equip their home Offices, many of you contacted Generation 2004 to enquire about the two different schemes mentioned. Yes, you read that correctly, the Commission has set up one scheme for the (partial) reimbursement of a screen and an office chair (purchase deadline 31 December [1]) and is developing a more comprehensive second scheme for 2021 [2].
Generation 2004 was pleased that the Commission is at last taking steps in the direction we have been advocating for since the start of the COVID‑19 crisis: support staff under the compulsory teleworking arrangements by improving ergonomics at home.
Continue reading Home-office equipment dilemma: zero clarity
Finally – reimbursement of teleworking costs
Yes, we can! This is the bottom line of this article. Yes, we can convince the Commission to do the right thing, even if it takes a lot of pressure (and more pressure) and notes (and more notes). After many discussions and meetings, DG HR has agreed in its Coronavirus update #23 to reimburse the costs for a screen and an ergonomic chair with ceilings of €150 and €200, respectively. While the reimbursement process has only just been set out [1] (and for seconded national experts (SNEs) is still being worked on [2]), this is a huge win for our colleagues, and we take the opportunity to thank all of you who have supported us during the last 8 months while we fought this uphill battle. A special thanks goes to the colleagues who used our template to request a reimbursement. While DG HR has refused these Art. 90.1 requests, the sheer number of them proved that there is a real need. This is your victory.
Continue reading Finally – reimbursement of teleworking costs
New teleworking guidelines and teleworking from abroad: here we go again!
In our July newsletter we informed you of our actions to guarantee fair and consistent application of the new teleworking guidelines throughout the Commission, especially as regards the possibility of 2 weeks of teleworking from outside the place of employment [1].
We wrote a note to DG FISMA concerning their overly strict interpretation of the rules, and received a positive reply to our request.
However, we decided to ask for your feedback – both in that article and through an email sent to all our members – on the procedures in place where you are and on the outcome of your request.
As a result, we were flooded with messages stressing the very different procedures and layers of approvals necessary to be granted these 2 weeks of teleworking in different DGs and different parts and sites of the Commission. Continue reading New teleworking guidelines and teleworking from abroad: here we go again!
Covid-19 – new teleworking guidelines and reimbursements of necessary costs
Teleworking Guidelines 4.2.2021 are now available.
The Commission has published updated teleworking guidelines which first entered into force on 25 May 2020: the first day of phase 1 of the deconfinement. We summarise the most important points in this article. Please take the time to read the guidelines carefully. Different sites will have different timelines, subject to the situation on the ground and the measures taken by the host country. Continue reading Covid-19 – new teleworking guidelines and reimbursements of necessary costs
