The teleworking bats information in Spain, however stays removed from the European common and essentially the most superior nations | Economy | EUROtoday

In Spain, little in comparison with the remainder of the European nations: solely 15.4% of the working inhabitants, in comparison with 22.6% of the European common. However, regardless of how deep the hole is, in 2024 it contracted a bit, since distant employment grew extra in Spain (1.2 proportion factors) than within the common of the twenty -seven (4 tenths). This follows from the most recent figures revealed by Eurostat, which additionally illustrate how far Spain is of essentially the most superior nations within the matter. In Netherlands, for instance, there are 52% of staff who develop a part of their workday at dwelling.

The European Statistical Portal permits to know the evolution of this variable in Spain since 1992. At that point teleworking was virtually anecdotal, a modality that utilized to between 1% and a couple of% of the workforce. The growth of expertise promoted these percentages with the start of the twenty first century, as much as a primary peak of seven.5% in 2013. As in earlier years, the European common (11.9%) exceeded broadly to the Spanish information; And the hole was additional widened within the subsequent workouts, by which Europe went to extra and Spain diminished teleworking. In 2016, 6.4% of the workers tele had been telepedbaj, whereas the neighborhood common was 13.1%, greater than double.

Then these percentages grew barely, to the occasion that promoted as by no means the distant work: the well being disaster of the coronavirus. The confinements to guard the inhabitants launched the Spanish proportion to fifteen.1% and the European as much as 20.7%. Both variables elevated much more in 2021, with 15.3% and 24%, respectively. Both Spanish and European information fell in 2022, with the tip of the pandemic. In 2024 they’ve bounced once more, particularly in Spain, to succeed in 15.4%, three tenths above the earlier file.

“The figures are very forceful: we are in teleworking percentages not seen since the fall of the year of the Covid, with 3.2 million working remote right now,” analyzes José Varela, answerable for digitalization of UGT. “When it was already understood that the pandemic was a thing of the past, the companies began to massively repeal the teleworking agreements linked to the COVID,” recollects the union accountable, however instantly clarifies that “the effect of remote work had already penetrated, assuming a turning point in the workers’ mentality.” That explains the postcovid bump and the posterior rebound: “The negotiation of collective agreements began to put teleworking between the priorities and that began to have results,” he explains.

Telework typically or usually

The proportion of 15.4% is the sum of the 2 teleworking modalities that distinguishes Eurostat. The Community Statistical Office differentiates between the employed who telework “normally” and those that do it “sometimes.” The former are those that do at dwelling any productive work associated to their present employment for at the least half of the times labored. That is, this group is the one that the majority telework, in entrance of the opposite, by which they bathe a couple of hours every week.

The disaggregated information reveals that those that telework usually symbolize 7.8% of the Spanish workforce. It is a crucial leap in comparison with 2023, of seven tenths, however which continues to be removed from the pandemic file, with 10.9% in 2020 and 9.4% in 2021. The 2023 is the primary improve on this proportion because it started to fall after the well being disaster, which may point out a change of pattern. Along the identical strains, the portion of those that say Teleworking typically is elevated in Spain: it goes from 7.1% in 2023 to 7.6% in 2024. This proportion does rise constantly from the disaster of the Coronavirus.

European nations with a better portion of teleworkors (including each modalities) are Netherlands (52%), Sweden (45.6%), Luxembourg (42.8%), Norway (42.5%) and Denmark (41.1%). In the alternative place there are Hungary (9%), Greece (7.8%), Serbia (7.6%), Romania (3.5%) and Bulgaria (3%).

According to specialists, the proportion of teleworkors in a rustic is dependent upon a number of elements: on the overall place of corporations, on the regulatory framework and, particularly, the productive material. Spain has on common with extra small and medium -sized corporations than different European nations, and in SMEs the potential of teleworking than in giant corporations is much less widespread. The actions of decrease added worth (corresponding to agriculture or hospitality), which in Spain have extra prominence than within the nations of northern Europe.

But it’s not an immovable formulation. “Portugal or Malta overcome us in five and eleven points in teleworking and also have a GDP strongly linked to tourism, hospitality or face -to -face care services,” says Varela. In addition, Spain is shyly altering in each parameters: its corporations are more and more bigger and acquire weight within the complete employment the most efficient actions, two phenomena that could be serving to the current impulse of teleworking.

Companies towards

On the opposite hand, some corporations have been taking steam coverage, amongst which nice American multinationals corresponding to Tesla, Amazon, Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan. The phenomenon has additionally occurred in Spain, in corporations corresponding to Holaluz and even within the public sector. This lives with more and more superior laptop and communication programs, which facilitate this labor modality, and with the scarcity of labor in sure sectors, which makes teleworking an attraction to seize candidates. The larger the demand for workers and the decrease provide of them, the extra choices the employee has to demand the distant modality.

“Eurostat data comes to confirm that the alleged regression of teleworking, at least in our country and at this time, is more in the field of business demonstrations and the holders that attached to work reality. One thing is the statements and another the reality that the metrics show us: telecommuting is possible, works and is beginning to consolidate,” says Varela.

The commerce unionist believes that in Spain an “unincommithized business fabric” influences and a presence “lower than our European neighbors in very qualified profiles.” The enterprise tradition additionally considers key: “We still have many employers anchored in the twentieth century. I remember statements by business representatives, at the beginning of the pandemic, stating that teleworking could not occur among the Spaniards because they are ‘little disciplined.” Despite this, he believes that Teleworking will proceed to develop: “The opposite leads to labor conflicts and talent escape.”