Belgian commuters will travel fewer kilometres after the lockdown as teleworking is on the rise, HR services group Acerta predicted on Thursday.
"We expect the number of kilometres travelled between home and work to decrease significantly due to the positive effects of telework seen by companies and workers," said Acerta lawyer Olivier Marcq, adding that they have "no reason to believe" that companies would go back to their old ways after the lockdown.
The average Belgian commuter travels 20.5 kilometres to work, according to Acerta. In the Brussels Capital Region, 59% of workers come from another region, according to an analysis of the average commuting distance per region. Also, the capital is home to large companies, which can more easily set up teleworking. The greatest opportunities for working from home are therefore in Brussels, according to Acerta.
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With the lockdown, teleworking has become established in many companies. According to the HR services group, more enterprises will authorise working from home in a structural manner. However, Belgians will no longer be teleworking every day of the week, but rather one or two days a week, Acerta predicted.
Acerta based its analysis on more than 1.5 million employment contracts in 73,000 companies. The distance between home and work was calculated for employment contracts valid on 1 January 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
