In recent months, our employees have proven their ability to make the transition from the office to the home office within a very short time. Komax in Switzerland has been offering the option of working from home since early 2018. This has certainly helped with a smooth changeover and the successful continuation of work. Nevertheless, pure home working – i.e. without anybody working in the office – was uncharted territory for everyone.

Looking back, remote working has gone very well at Komax and has now become the norm. Given the positive experience over the last few months, our employees have increasingly been asking whether we can extend the existing rule on working from home outside a lockdown. Komax has taken this into consideration and redefined the framework conditions in a revised set of rules on working from home.

Up to 60% working from home

The management considered it important to have a good balance between home and on-site work. A particular challenge revealed during the lockdown experience was how difficult it was for employees to have social exchanges. The teams quickly found creative solutions to this. Virtual coffee breaks or online after-work drinks are examples of how employees are informally maintaining important contacts.

Since August 1, 2020, employees in Switzerland have been able to do up to 60% of their work from home, depending on their role and workload. They can now set their home days flexibly depending on their personal situation. In addition, meetings will increasingly be scheduled in such a way that employees can participate not only on site but also virtually. The application procedure for working from home has also been simplified.

Numerous advantages for employees

With its expanded options for working from home, Komax is enabling its employees not only to optimize their work-life balance but also to better combine work and family life. With the new rules, Komax is also helping to reduce the volume of traffic and expand the circle of potential employees. Because when people no longer have to fight through traffic five days a week, they are more willing to accept an interesting job a little further away from home. By expanding the option to work from home, Komax has gained additional appeal as an employer.