Remote Working: Why It’s Still Not Fully Accepted Among Czech Employers

Two years ago, the COVID-19 health crisis triggered a surge in remote working as most countries had to follow strict safety measures to keep businesses going.

But now that most of these measures have lifted and life has gone back to “normal,” many companies are still transitioning their once-in-office roles to either entirely or partially remote ones.

A recent study from employment site Indeed found that the number of global job listings with a remote component has soared since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly tripling from an average of just 2.5 per cent in January 2020 to almost 7.5 per cent in September 2021.

Data scientists at careers site Ladders believe remote work is here to stay, with a full quarter of all professional jobs to be available remotely by the end of the year.

“This change in working arrangements is impossible to overhype. As big as it is, it’s even bigger than people think,” said Ladders CEO Marc Cenedella.

“Hiring practices typically move at a glacial pace, but the pandemic turned up the heat so we’re seeing a rapid flood of change in this space. It’s really rather amazing”.

But while much of the world seems to be rapidly embracing remote and hybrid working, some countries just haven’t adjusted to the idea yet; whether for cultural, legal, or technical reasons.

Czech Republic: Legal uncertainty around remote workers’ status

Although remote working is becoming commonplace in most Western European countries, the flexible method has not been fully accepted among Czechs, especially by employers, despite the country being just as technologically equipped as its peers.

The reason is rather simple: the Czech Republic is struggling to give remote workers proper status, and the law does not specify whether a remote worker is a normal employee or not, thus companies prefer avoiding remote work given the legal uncertainty.

The Czech Republic is the only country that has never given legal status to remote workers, and although the government is starting to debate legislating their status following pushes from the younger generations who are asking for a change, there hasn’t been much progress made so far.

According to an Ipsos poll, 51 per cent of the Czech employees questioned were interested in permanent remote work and 59 per cent in a partially remote job.