Siemens to let staff spend less time in the office permanently
Siemens are giving their employees their opportunity to work from home more. Image: REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
- Siemens have given their employees the opportunity to work remotely for two or three days a week.
- The decision was made after the company was forced to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The changes have been associated with a different leadership style that focuses on outcomes oppose to time spent at the office.
Germany’s Siemens has decided to let its employees work from wherever they want for two or three days a week, in the latest example of how the coronavirus is making major companies re-think how and where their staff work.
The Munich-based trains to industrial software maker said its board had approved a new working model which will allow employees to work from where they are most productive, including at home or from a co-working space.
“The aim is to enable employees worldwide to work on a mobile basis for an average of two or three days a week, whenever reasonable and feasible,” Siemens said in a statement.
“These changes will also be associated with a different leadership style, one that focuses on outcomes rather than on time spent at the office,” said incoming Chief Executive Roland Busch.
Technology companies such as Twitter Inc have been taking the lead on a permanent shift that is gaining traction in other industries as firms seek cost reductions or employee convenience - or both.
Siemens, which is the first large German company to make permanent changes to how it organises how staff work, said the new model will apply to more than 140,000 employees at around 125 locations in 43 countries.
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