In eDiversa Group, we have already implemented the agreement for working at a distance in the modality of teleworking. Our human resources team has been working on this issue since the article 5.1 del Royal decree-Law 28/2020 became public. This is what is now the law 10/2021.

Working all the documentation and requirements in-depth and in advance, we were able to apply the law when the state of alarm finished, which has made us pioneers in the real and legal implementation of teleworking. eDiversa Group is one of the first companies nationwide to formalize this agreement between workers and the company.

The implementation of teleworking in eDiversa Group followed the following process: first the employees chose if they wanted to worked in hybrid format or completely in person. Later, we gave workers the material and resources necessary to work at home. And finally, the occupational risks company carried out an online audit of the spaces used to work in employees’ homes.

Once we had approval of all the mini-offices of all employees in their houses, the teleworking agreement was made official, with the proportion of teleworking and in person as decided by each worker of the company. This proportion can be modified when the employees require, always based on a minimum of 20% attendance per year.

The company's advances in digitalization and teleworking do not end here. The eDiversa Group's Bylaws have also been adapted to this new reality. For this, the members of the Boards of Directors and can participate online. In addition, we have also implemented the electronic signature for the minutes of these digital meetings.


Legal and business context

Before March 13, 2020 only 4% of work agreements established in our country included conditions for working at home. The arrival of the virus and the pandemic changed everything, and during the months of confinement, 88% of companies started using teleworking. In this extraordinary situation, conditions stipulated for working from home were few or none.

After more than a year and a half in these circumstances, workers have become used to the new labor situation. A study by IESE Business School assures that 68% of workers prefer a hybrid format, meaning some days in the office and others at home. To be exact, 36% prefer working three days from home and 32% only two.

The pandemic has caused us to reflect on the question of teleworking. Employees have experimented having to perform their duties from home, weighing these advantages and disadvantages, and companies have seen how performance has not diminished. The situation has to be regulated and comply with regulations, to ensure the well-being of the worker as well as the objectives of the companies.

For this, when the end of the State of Alarm was decreed, teleworking conditions were stipulated and formalized in the law 10/2021. Starting July 11, 2021 teleworking in Spain is voluntary and reversible, in addition to being formalized in an agreement between the employee and the company.

The normative demands companies provide employees with the material and resources necessary to carry out their professional duties from home in the same conditions as in the office. The ordinance also established a period of one year for corporations to establish these changes.

Internationally, teleworking is also being regulated. Technological companies like Apple or Google want to return to in-person work in their offices. Although management leans towards the hybrid format, the will of the majority of workers is to continue at home. Employees affirm that this method of conciliation of personal and professional life is simpler. For now, high-level managers in these multinational companies have not given a final answer to the conflict.


Conclusion

In this new normality, everything we took for granted has changed. As a technology company specializing in business digitalization, we feel a responsibility to integrate the new work formulas. We have always believed that eDiversa Group's most valuable asset is its employees, so we hope that this change will make it easier for them to conciliate their professional, personal and family life. Also, with results in hand, we affirm that the company's performance has not been affected by teleworking and has, in fact, exceeded the objectives set for the first 6 months of the year.

In 2021, we have already tested the hybrid format, because it was indicated by authorities and restrictions. As a result, we have found that on the days that workers go to the office, they take the opportunity to socialize and strengthen the -already good- relationships between colleagues. They also take the opportunity to focus on resolving interdepartmental issues or perform those tasks that require presence. All these casuistry makes the feeling of belonging to the company, which we value very much in eDiversa Group, not disappear.