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  • Inclusion

Telework: where are we?

Published on 25 September 2017
Update on 26 September 2022
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Summary

In the midst of the consultations on the Labour Law, the trade unions and employers' organizations published a joint report by the social partners on "the development of telework and remote work" at the beginning of the summer.

"Even if formal telework is not developing much in France, it is taking on a new dimension today due to the conjunction of several reflections on the impact of digital tools on work, the way work is carried out and organized," observe the social partners in this document. "With the development of digital tools, the use of telework is the subject of an increased demand from working people, to better articulate professional and personal life, as evidenced by the growing growth of informal telework practices. This also corresponds, for some job categories, to a rapid evolution of professional uses towards more autonomy, especially with regard to the workplace. Companies see it as a tool for motivation and attractiveness, in particular to keep certain key skills".

Telework was created 12 years ago by a national interprofessional agreement (ANI), partly transcribed into the Labor Code in 2012.

Formal and informal telework: 16 to 20% of employees would be concerned

The reality of telework in France is difficult to grasp. The available data are based on three types of sources: public statistical surveys (quite old), an analysis of agreements and surveys of beneficiaries.

Estimates differ widely depending on how telework is defined in these different studies: telework (and its various modalities: itinerant, nomadic or mobile work) or telework in the strict sense of the term, as defined by a company agreement or charter. While some studies focus on employed telework, other studies include self-employed telework.

Depending on the source, the proportion of teleworkers varies from 2% to 6% for telework governed by a company agreement, but could be as high as 16% or even 20% for informal telework.

The DARES (Direction de l'animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques) of the French Ministry of Labour estimated in 2004 that 2% of employees were teleworking at home, and 5% were teleworking on the move. Telework is defined here as an activity where the employee makes intensive professional use of computers, outside his or her company. "Out of 22 million employees in France, it is estimated that 440,000 could be considered as "home teleworkers" and 1,100,000 as "nomadic teleworkers", i.e. 2% and 5% of employees respectively." DARES also estimated that 6% of non-employees met the criteria for home-based telework.

In 2009, INSEE observed a strong progression of telework. From its annual survey on the use of ICTs in companies, it noted that 22% of companies with a computer used telework. According to INSEE, telework was massively practiced in ICT-related service companies (55%), in financial services (49%), in business services, in consulting and advertising.

In a report dedicated to telework in large French companies, Greenworking estimated in 2012 that 12.4% of French employees telework at least 8 hours per month."The very idea of telework has become commonplace for three out of four employers, but the practice has not yet become institutionalized: 75% of large groups are still in the experimentation phase with a pilot project involving on average between 30 and 200 employees." According to Greenworking, telecommuting was equally relevant to men and women and to all generations. "The typical profile of the teleworker challenges many prejudices. First, teleworking is neither specifically female (63% men) nor specifically young (only 3% of teleworkers are under 30). Telework can be equally beneficial to all generations, including older people for whom telework can be an appropriate transition to retirement.

The national survey " Tour de France du télétravail" carried out by a group of specialists in coworking and new forms of work (LMBG Worklabs, Neo-nomade, Openscop and Zevillage) proposed in 2013 a much higher estimate: 16.7% of teleworkers in the sense that they work at least once a week "outside the office". Among them, 48% are private sector employees, 17% public sector employees and 35% non-salaried. In 67% of cases, the practice is informal. In 56% of cases, it is done only 1 or 2 days a month. 79% of telework is done at home, 7.9% in co-working spaces, telecenters, shared offices and 2.5% in business centers.

In a methodological guide on telework, ANACT, for its part, estimated in 2015 at 14.2% the share of private and public employees who practice telework.

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According to a survey conducted by IPSOS, 14% of French people working in an office would already practice telecommuting in 2016 on an ad hoc basis and 10% on a regular basis (i.e. 24% in total).

The Obergo firm, which uses a stricter definition of telework, questions these estimates: according to this firm "companies are still cautious about telework, which is unfortunately developing less quickly than the "official" figures say, despite the strong demand from employees". Obergo estimates that the real rate of teleworkers in France (all sectors of activity) is closer to 2% than to 16%.

About a hundred company agreements

Since the ANI (national interprofessional agreement) of 2005, there have been nearly 100 company agreements. (The institution of telework on the basis of a rider to the employment contract is not statistically monitored).

Obergo lists 80 company agreements and 3 branch agreements since 2005, distributed as follows: 66 company agreements in the private sector, 3 agreements in the public sector and 11 agreements or charters in the parapublic sector.

A wide variety of situations

Telework is highly concentrated in a few sectors (IT, engineering, consulting, telecoms, pharmaceutical industries, metallurgical industries, insurance, banks...), where the proportion of managers is high, on a few target functions and in head offices. The telecom, digital and banking sectors are strongly represented.

According to Obergo, the ICT sector (IT and telecommunications, IT services companies, manufacturers, etc.) has the highest rate of teleworking: 12% on average, but with significant disparities.

While some companies open telework to a wide range of functions, most reserve it for autonomous senior managers, employees on fixed day work contracts or technicians whose work is easily quantifiable and controllable.

According to a study conducted for the recruitment firm MichaelPage, 70% of executives say they have the opportunity to telecommute (compared to only 36% of all employees surveyed). 49% of the respondents believe that "it is a positive initiative to rebalance personal and professional life".

Overall positive perceptions of telework

Although the extent of telework use is controversial, surveys show a very high level of satisfaction for both employees and companies.

When it comes to quality of work life, telecommuting is the highest-scoring topic in any company barometer or national survey on work.

According to the report " Teleworking in Large Companies" (Greenworking 2012), 85% of the companies surveyed consider that teleworking has a positive impact on their competitiveness (between 5% and 30%).

According to the Obergo survey, 95% of the respondents consider that teleworking improves their personal quality of life. 61% feel that their work time has increased.

Strong employee expectations

According to a survey conducted in 2016 on behalf of Randstad (which specializes in recruitment and temporary work), 64% of employees would be in favor of telecommuting :
  • 17% wish to telework a fixed number of days per week (2.5 days per week on average)
  • 35% aspire to telework occasionally;
  • 12% would like to work every working day;
According to the survey, employers seem to be rather reluctant to implement this work organization (only 16% of the employees surveyed said they had been offered the use of telework). They express the fear of losing control over their employees' activities and also mention legal and regulatory constraints.

According to the IPSOS Revolution At Work survey, the majority of French people think that telecommuting is a " good thing" for reducing traffic jams (79%), "facilitating economic decentralization " outside the big cities (71%) and for the rhythm of life (70%). As for contacts, the trend is reversed. 28% think it is " rather a bad thing " for exchanges with other professionals (26% " rather a good thing") and 44% make the same rather negative judgment " for relations between colleagues" (compared to 15%). When asked in this survey about ways to be "more efficient " in their work, the French respondents prefer "more flexible" working hours (85%). 72% would like to "work from home more often" . 65% would like to have access to "convivial spaces to encourage informal exchanges" (65%). 52% plan to work more often in coworking spaces, cafés and other shared meeting rooms.

Growth of remote work tools, particularly among executives

According to the latest "Conditions of Work" survey, conducted by INSEE and the Ministry of Labor, in 2013, 60.5% of employees could access their work email box, when they are not at their workplace (79% of executives, 42.4% of employees, 47.3% of workers). In addition to e-mail, 19.5% can access the company's computer system (50.3% of managers, 8.6% of employees, 5.2% of workers). The use of a cell phone for work purposes increased from 32% in 2005 to 45% in 2013 and from 53% to 60% among managers.

21% of telework in 2025 in the Île de France region

The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation (CDC) has undertaken to evaluate the demand for telework in the Ile de France region by 2025. The CDC wished, on this occasion, to identify the share of telework that could be satisfied by telecenters (existing and to be created).

The evaluation of the demand for telework concerned each of the 3 categories of population that are likely to use telecentres: self-employed, VSEs and employees of SMEs - large companies. Workers and farmers (23% of the working population in Ile de France) were not included in the scope of the study.

In the selected trend scenario (which takes into account the future infrastructure of the Greater Paris), the share of telework could reach 21% in Ile de France. Regarding the share of telework that could be satisfied by telecenters, the CDC projections describe a situation in 2025 with 318 telecenters in Ile-de-France, which would offer a total of 67,000 places frequented by 171,000 teleworkers (telework being mostly practiced part-time). The results of the simulations show major positive effects in five families of externalities: transport, direct gains for employees, direct gains for companies, health, attractiveness and economic development.

Telework-friendly provisions in the Labour ReformOrdinancesOrdinance No. 3, published on August 31, promotes the use of telework by introducing the presumption of imputability of work-related accidents.

It provides that "in case of occasional recourse to telework, it can be implemented by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. This double agreement is collected by any means each time it is implemented".

"The teleworker has the same rights as an employee who works on the company's premises. In particular, they have the same collective rights and access to training. In order to cope with personal constraints, any employee who occupies a position eligible for a telework organization under the conditions provided for by a collective agreement or, failing that, by the charter, may ask his or her employer for the benefit of telework. "The employer who refuses to grant the benefit of telework to his employee must give reasons for his answer. "Order No. 1 reaffirms the right to disconnect in the same terms as the El Khomri law.

 

Références :

Sources

Telework: where are we?

In the midst of the consultations on the Labour Law, the trade unions and employers' organizations published a joint report by the social partners on "the development of telework and remote work" at the beginning of the summer.

"Even if formal telework is not developing much in France, it is taking on a new dimension today due to the conjunction of several reflections on the impact of digital tools on work, the way work is carried out and organized," observe the social partners in this document. "With the development of digital tools, the use of telework is the subject of an increased demand from working people, to better articulate professional and personal life, as evidenced by the growing growth of informal telework practices. This also corresponds, for some job categories, to a rapid evolution of professional uses towards more autonomy, especially with regard to the workplace. Companies see it as a tool for motivation and attractiveness, in particular to keep certain key skills".

Telework was created 12 years ago by a national interprofessional agreement (ANI), partly transcribed into the Labor Code in 2012.

Formal and informal telework: 16 to 20% of employees would be concerned

The reality of telework in France is difficult to grasp. The available data are based on three types of sources: public statistical surveys (quite old), an analysis of agreements and surveys of beneficiaries.

Estimates differ widely depending on how telework is defined in these different studies: telework (and its various modalities: itinerant, nomadic or mobile work) or telework in the strict sense of the term, as defined by a company agreement or charter. While some studies focus on employed telework, other studies include self-employed telework.

Depending on the source, the proportion of teleworkers varies from 2% to 6% for telework governed by a company agreement, but could be as high as 16% or even 20% for informal telework.

The DARES (Direction de l'animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques) of the French Ministry of Labour estimated in 2004 that 2% of employees were teleworking at home, and 5% were teleworking on the move. Telework is defined here as an activity where the employee makes intensive professional use of computers, outside his or her company. "Out of 22 million employees in France, it is estimated that 440,000 could be considered as "home teleworkers" and 1,100,000 as "nomadic teleworkers", i.e. 2% and 5% of employees respectively." DARES also estimated that 6% of non-employees met the criteria for home-based telework.

In 2009, INSEE observed a strong progression of telework. From its annual survey on the use of ICTs in companies, it noted that 22% of companies with a computer used telework. According to INSEE, telework was massively practiced in ICT-related service companies (55%), in financial services (49%), in business services, in consulting and advertising.

In a report dedicated to telework in large French companies, Greenworking estimated in 2012 that 12.4% of French employees telework at least 8 hours per month."The very idea of telework has become commonplace for three out of four employers, but the practice has not yet become institutionalized: 75% of large groups are still in the experimentation phase with a pilot project involving on average between 30 and 200 employees." According to Greenworking, telecommuting was equally relevant to men and women and to all generations. "The typical profile of the teleworker challenges many prejudices. First, teleworking is neither specifically female (63% men) nor specifically young (only 3% of teleworkers are under 30). Telework can be equally beneficial to all generations, including older people for whom telework can be an appropriate transition to retirement.

The national survey " Tour de France du télétravail" carried out by a group of specialists in coworking and new forms of work (LMBG Worklabs, Neo-nomade, Openscop and Zevillage) proposed in 2013 a much higher estimate: 16.7% of teleworkers in the sense that they work at least once a week "outside the office". Among them, 48% are private sector employees, 17% public sector employees and 35% non-salaried. In 67% of cases, the practice is informal. In 56% of cases, it is done only 1 or 2 days a month. 79% of telework is done at home, 7.9% in co-working spaces, telecenters, shared offices and 2.5% in business centers.

In a methodological guide on telework, ANACT, for its part, estimated in 2015 at 14.2% the share of private and public employees who practice telework.

null

null

According to a survey conducted by IPSOS, 14% of French people working in an office would already practice telecommuting in 2016 on an ad hoc basis and 10% on a regular basis (i.e. 24% in total).

The Obergo firm, which uses a stricter definition of telework, questions these estimates: according to this firm "companies are still cautious about telework, which is unfortunately developing less quickly than the "official" figures say, despite the strong demand from employees". Obergo estimates that the real rate of teleworkers in France (all sectors of activity) is closer to 2% than to 16%.

About a hundred company agreements

Since the ANI (national interprofessional agreement) of 2005, there have been nearly 100 company agreements. (The institution of telework on the basis of a rider to the employment contract is not statistically monitored).

Obergo lists 80 company agreements and 3 branch agreements since 2005, distributed as follows: 66 company agreements in the private sector, 3 agreements in the public sector and 11 agreements or charters in the parapublic sector.

A wide variety of situations

Telework is highly concentrated in a few sectors (IT, engineering, consulting, telecoms, pharmaceutical industries, metallurgical industries, insurance, banks...), where the proportion of managers is high, on a few target functions and in head offices. The telecom, digital and banking sectors are strongly represented.

According to Obergo, the ICT sector (IT and telecommunications, IT services companies, manufacturers, etc.) has the highest rate of teleworking: 12% on average, but with significant disparities.

While some companies open telework to a wide range of functions, most reserve it for autonomous senior managers, employees on fixed day work contracts or technicians whose work is easily quantifiable and controllable.

According to a study conducted for the recruitment firm MichaelPage, 70% of executives say they have the opportunity to telecommute (compared to only 36% of all employees surveyed). 49% of the respondents believe that "it is a positive initiative to rebalance personal and professional life".

Overall positive perceptions of telework

Although the extent of telework use is controversial, surveys show a very high level of satisfaction for both employees and companies.

When it comes to quality of work life, telecommuting is the highest-scoring topic in any company barometer or national survey on work.

According to the report " Teleworking in Large Companies" (Greenworking 2012), 85% of the companies surveyed consider that teleworking has a positive impact on their competitiveness (between 5% and 30%).

According to the Obergo survey, 95% of the respondents consider that teleworking improves their personal quality of life. 61% feel that their work time has increased.

Strong employee expectations

According to a survey conducted in 2016 on behalf of Randstad (which specializes in recruitment and temporary work), 64% of employees would be in favor of telecommuting :
  • 17% wish to telework a fixed number of days per week (2.5 days per week on average)
  • 35% aspire to telework occasionally;
  • 12% would like to work every working day;
According to the survey, employers seem to be rather reluctant to implement this work organization (only 16% of the employees surveyed said they had been offered the use of telework). They express the fear of losing control over their employees' activities and also mention legal and regulatory constraints.

According to the IPSOS Revolution At Work survey, the majority of French people think that telecommuting is a " good thing" for reducing traffic jams (79%), "facilitating economic decentralization " outside the big cities (71%) and for the rhythm of life (70%). As for contacts, the trend is reversed. 28% think it is " rather a bad thing " for exchanges with other professionals (26% " rather a good thing") and 44% make the same rather negative judgment " for relations between colleagues" (compared to 15%). When asked in this survey about ways to be "more efficient " in their work, the French respondents prefer "more flexible" working hours (85%). 72% would like to "work from home more often" . 65% would like to have access to "convivial spaces to encourage informal exchanges" (65%). 52% plan to work more often in coworking spaces, cafés and other shared meeting rooms.

Growth of remote work tools, particularly among executives

According to the latest "Conditions of Work" survey, conducted by INSEE and the Ministry of Labor, in 2013, 60.5% of employees could access their work email box, when they are not at their workplace (79% of executives, 42.4% of employees, 47.3% of workers). In addition to e-mail, 19.5% can access the company's computer system (50.3% of managers, 8.6% of employees, 5.2% of workers). The use of a cell phone for work purposes increased from 32% in 2005 to 45% in 2013 and from 53% to 60% among managers.

21% of telework in 2025 in the Île de France region

The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation (CDC) has undertaken to evaluate the demand for telework in the Ile de France region by 2025. The CDC wished, on this occasion, to identify the share of telework that could be satisfied by telecenters (existing and to be created).

The evaluation of the demand for telework concerned each of the 3 categories of population that are likely to use telecentres: self-employed, VSEs and employees of SMEs - large companies. Workers and farmers (23% of the working population in Ile de France) were not included in the scope of the study.

In the selected trend scenario (which takes into account the future infrastructure of the Greater Paris), the share of telework could reach 21% in Ile de France. Regarding the share of telework that could be satisfied by telecenters, the CDC projections describe a situation in 2025 with 318 telecenters in Ile-de-France, which would offer a total of 67,000 places frequented by 171,000 teleworkers (telework being mostly practiced part-time). The results of the simulations show major positive effects in five families of externalities: transport, direct gains for employees, direct gains for companies, health, attractiveness and economic development.

Telework-friendly provisions in the Labour ReformOrdinancesOrdinance No. 3, published on August 31, promotes the use of telework by introducing the presumption of imputability of work-related accidents.

It provides that "in case of occasional recourse to telework, it can be implemented by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee. This double agreement is collected by any means each time it is implemented".

"The teleworker has the same rights as an employee who works on the company's premises. In particular, they have the same collective rights and access to training. In order to cope with personal constraints, any employee who occupies a position eligible for a telework organization under the conditions provided for by a collective agreement or, failing that, by the charter, may ask his or her employer for the benefit of telework. "The employer who refuses to grant the benefit of telework to his employee must give reasons for his answer. "Order No. 1 reaffirms the right to disconnect in the same terms as the El Khomri law.

 

Références :

Sources

Labo Société Numérique

Labo République Française Agence nationale de cohésion des territoires
Telework: where are we?