Through teleworking, an estimated 36 million kilometres of commuting will be saved this year, according to a survey of 3,750 Belgian workers conducted by the Ministry of Transport on Thursday.
The greater the distance, the more teleworkers: the majority of people living more than 50 kilometres from their office telework at least one day a week. Yet Brussels residents work from home most often (42%). Just over one in three Flemish residents (33%) work from home at least one day a week. For Walloons, the figure is 29%. Typically, people work from home one or two days a week, typically on Wednesdays (47%) or Fridays (49%).
The survey also shows that 45% of teleworkers receive a homeworking allowance of, on average, €46 per month. The majority of teleworkers (70%) have a laptop that was paid for by the employer.
Those working from home do incur some extra expenses. The number of shopping and service-related trips undertaken by teleworkers in the survey increased by 35% and 31%, respectively. By teleworking, workers are nevertheless more motivated to use public transport instead of the car to get to work (29%) or to cycle (31%).
Slightly more than six in 10 respondents in Flanders (63%) say their employer does not allow them to telecommute. In Wallonia, that percentage is even slightly higher (68%). A recent survey conducted by HR company SD Worx shows that companies that allow their employees to work from home are typically more satisfied with their bosses.
While teleworking is genuinely shown to have positive impacts on workers, it does however acknowledge some potential downsides, especially for businesses. Notably, with greater teleworking, employees may be more inclined to live further away from work, increasing the distance travelled when they do come into the office.
