Union warns of nonstop availability

"Constant availability is a prerequisite in many places," said Giorgio Pardini, Head of Telecommunications and IT at Syndicom, speaking to the media in Bern on Thursday. This also has consequences for health: "Working around the clock is very stressful and makes employees ill." The union bases its findings on a representative survey of employees in the telecoms sector in Switzerland. Around 3,500 employees from Swisscom, Orange, Sunrise and UPC Cablecom took part between spring and fall 2014. According to the media and communications union, the results are alarming: "Many employees in the industry are suffering from stress, time pressure and staff shortages," said Pardini. The phenomenon is not new, but the risks of rapid technological change have not yet been limited.

Clearer rules required

"Employees are often working more, putting in a 45-hour week instead of a 40-hour week," said Pardini. One consequence of this is that the number of burn-out cases continues to rise. This should not be allowed to happen. "We must curb the dissolution of work boundaries." At the same time, the employee representative does not deny that the new possibilities of flexible working also bring opportunities. "Many people want to work from home, and that's not a bad thing," said Pardini. However, he emphasized that clearer rules are needed. The union recommends various measures: more staff to cover the volume of work; more co-determination rights for employees; more recovery time or a reduction in the maximum weekly working hours. In addition, Syndicom proposes technical barriers for business e-mails outside of working hours.

The implementation of the recommendations is realistic, said Pardini. "The companies were involved in the study; they also have an interest in healthy, productive employees." The results of the study will now be used for social dialog.

Opportunities outweigh risks

Swisscom, whose employees also took part in the survey, said in a statement that it was "already in close contact with the social partners". Nevertheless, the experience and feedback showed that the opportunities of modern forms of work outweigh the risks. The job satisfaction of its employees has increased over the past two years, Swisscom wrote. Working from home, part-time work, job sharing, sabbaticals and buying vacations enable employees to balance work and family life. At the same time, modern forms of work are a major challenge. The company relies on employees taking personal responsibility. "We certainly don't expect them to work in their free time or to be available around the clock." (SDA)

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