Home working in Switzerland is here to stay, say major companies

A new survey by SonntagsBlick has revealed that many international companies and domestic businesses in Switzerland are prepared to keep working from home. Companies want to give greater flexibility to their workers, as the prospect of home working is a good way to attract employees.

Most Swiss companies open to keeping remote work

The newspaper asked multiple large companies across Swiss cities about their home working and home office policies moving forward. The end of most COVID restrictions in Switzerland has sparked a debate on whether home working should be scrapped, encouraged or expanded.

In the survey, SonntagsBlick found that many companies are open to the idea of home working, for at least a part of working hours. For example, the pharmaceutical giant Novartis said in a statement that half of its employees now work from home and never commute into the office.

Remote working a good way to attract people to jobs

Many other companies are choosing a so-called “hybrid system,” where jobs are split between the office and home. Nestlé has recently approved a plan to let employees work half in the office and half remotely, and Swisscom, the internet and phone provider, has allowed employees to work remotely for four days a week.

The phenomenon has also made its way into the halls of power, with the Swiss government and the Federal Department of Finance announcing that they will be expanding their home working programmes. Many companies have also noted that home working options are necessary as they are a good way to attract workers.

Office still serves integral role for companies in Switzerland

Others are not so keen to see more remote employees, with supermarket Coop limiting workers to just one day a week working from home. "90 percent of Coop employees work in sales, logistics or production where the home office is not possible," a spokesperson explained. 

While many are enthusiastic about working from home, most companies acknowledge that the office will not disappear completely. Zurich Insurance, Roche and Novartis all said that the office still serves an important social function and will be taking steps to convert offices from working areas to meeting, social and communication spaces.