Page 21 - PR3_Case study_Final version _English

Cyprus
Occupation Secretary at the Department of Economics at the University of
Cyprus
B. Problematic situation in ‘‘With Covid-19 and the limited number of employees allowed in a
my job/my organisation working space, the University of Cyprus decided to implement a
regarding flexible work rotational approach of how and who would work at the office’s
site. To be precise, I had to work two or three times a week from
home.

This 'flexible' arrangement wasn't very practical for me because I
couldn't choose which days, how many days, or even what times I
wanted to work. As a result, it was more of a fixed rotational
program than a truly flexible work arrangement. Furthermore,
there was an imbalance in the work being done as a result of a lack
of proper work monitoring. In my case, I realized that I was
working more than the standard 8 hours a day, while others were
working less, which contributed to conflict and more work tasks to
pile up at the end of the month.

As a result of these misconducts in my workplace's flexible
arrangement, I was tired and mentally drained after a working-
from-home day, I was not very productive, and after realizing that
some people weren't working sufficiently, I was unmotivated’’.
B. How do you think ''I believe that flexible working is an excellent arrangement for
the situation could today's fast-paced society. To be effective, however, it must be
be improved? implemented correctly, allowing people enough freedom and trust
while still monitoring and controlling the situation. Speaking from
personal experience, I believe that being able to choose which days
of the week are more convenient for me to work from home will
make a significant difference in my motivation and productivity.
Furthermore, because everyone in my workplace works
independently, and adjusting the starting and ending times of my
working day will not affect someone, I would recommend having
the option to work on different working hours as a useful flexible
arrangement that allows for more freedom while also positively
affecting one's productivity. Moreover, while I do not fully support
the idea of monitoring employees, I believe that a method of
monitoring employees is necessary when integrating these
arrangements because based on my experience, many take
advantage of the flexible arrangement to work less’’.

References on the ● 9 tips for working from home that can help with work-life
topic balance

● Monitoring Remote Employees – Is it Ethical?

● Employee Monitoring: Laws and Ethics

● How to Manage Time Working From Home