The spread of Covid-19 disease eventually pushed several business leaders either to close their businesses or to develop new coping skills. As such, in Senegal, there are many companies that have favoured teleworking for a continuity of work.
The business world was one of the sectors most affected by Covid-19. This has resulted in a slowdown in activities, a reduction in staff and working hours. This is not without economic consequences for turnover, competitiveness, and business productivity. To adapt to this difficult environment, business leaders have competed with innovation and creativity to stay the course and turn the work tool. It is that some workers have adopted telework, which has until now been practised by a very small part of the population; in particular, that which operates in the services sector.
It allows the employee to work outside the company, using information and communication technologies. Indeed, the Covid-19 crisis has revealed the urgent need for our companies to integrate the digital dimension more fully into their operations, to overcome physical barriers such as the obligation to be present in the workplace. Whether it is the media, banks, online commerce, the players in these sectors had to rely on telework to continue their activities.
In view of the rapid evolution of technologies and their place in our daily lives, teleworking could be a good route for our businesses.
A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), entitled “Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work”, published in 2017, highlighted the benefits of telework.
The ILO reported that the growing use of digital technologies – smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers – to work at home and elsewhere is rapidly transforming the traditional work model.
It improves work-life balance, reduces commuting times and increases productivity. The ILO report describes several positive effects of teleworking: more autonomy over working time which leads to more flexibility in terms of work organisation, reduced travel time resulting in better work/family balance and increased productivity.
However, the ILO also identifies several disadvantages such as the tendency to work more hours, an overlap between paid work and personal life – which can lead to a high level of stress. According to the ILO, at present only the European Union has a comprehensive framework to adapt to the digitisation of telework, with the European Framework Agreement on Telework that our companies can perpetuate telework at the end of this health crisis that continues to hold over the world.
