“One in three businesses can run with all staff working from home”
In Antwerp Province workers have been instructed to work from home. Only if it’s completely impossible to work from home are employees allowed physically to go to their place of work. In Belgium as a whole working from home is “highly recommended”.
The measures have been taken to reduce contacts between colleagues and stem the new surge of coronavirus cases. Numerus are the Flemish businesses that have been investing in getting employees to work from home since the start of the emergency in March. VOKA, the Flemish employers’ organisation, notes that many employees still cannot work from home and probably never will be able to.
“Think of jobs that involve a physical activity, e.g. in construction, in a factory or in a bar or restaurant” says Nico De Meester. “In two out of three Flemish businesses only part of the workforce can work from home, but in one business in three the entire business can be kept running with everybody working from home!”