When thinking about office work practices, the experience gained during the pandemic should be taken into account .
- We have noticed that the modes of operation during the pandemic have reduced absences due to sickness, among other factors. We have also learned to use video conferencing efficiently and online meetings will probably continue to replace business travelling.
These are observations made by Assistant Police Commissioner Minna Gråsten of the National Police Board in her blog published on the Police website.
According to her, Covid-19 has also put the Police adapting capacity to test.
- Even if the Police is well trained to operate in sudden situations, this has been quite a unique test for us, too. The Police has shown to have good capacity to adapt but we can still learn and improve in our operations, she writes in her blog.
Teleworking, or so-called WFA (working from anywhere) is employer’s competitive edge
Recently, the Ministry of Finance published a WFA strategy. The strategy contains two outlines which will certainly also direct the development of Police work, says Assistant Police Commissioner Gråsten.
- First, if the tasks at hand allow, teleworking or WFA is of similar value as the work at the office. Secondly, full-time telework is not an objective for the government jobs. I think these outlines are good premises for future development of work.
According to Assistant Commissioner Gråsten, independence of location of work provides a competitive edge for the employer when they are looking for the best competence available for a certain job. WFA can impact the access to the best possible competence even if the sphere of life of the most competent person were far from the office.
Discussion about staff experience of fairness and equality is needed
- WFA can support work-related coping of the staff as well as the combination and alignment of work and private life. Naturally, diminished commuting between the home and office has environmental importance, she adds in her blog.
According to her, we must remember, also in the future, that WFA is not equally suitable for all tasks. It seems that the practices and remote management of WFA still need developing.
- The discussion must be open and transparent in the work communities to ensure the staff experience of fairness and equality. At the same time, it is good to think of means to promote the potential of WFA in tasks where it is not possible now, for example, because of technological or equipment-related reasons.
