Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain - A qualitative survey

Corral, Antonio; Isusi, Iñigo Working Paper Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain - A qualitative survey JRC Working Papers Series on Labour, Education and Technology, No. 2020/08 Provided in Cooperation with: Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission Suggested Citation: Corral, Antonio; Isusi, Iñigo (2020) : Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain - A qualitative survey, JRC Working Papers Series on Labour, Education and Technology, No. 2020/08, European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Seville This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/231340 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ EUR 28558 EN Joint Research Centre Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain A qualitative survey JRC Working Papers Series on Labour, Education and Technology 2020/08 Antonio Corral, Iñigo Isusi JRC Technical Report TECHNOLOGY LABOUR EDUCATION Joint Research Centre This Working Paper is part of a Working paper series on Labour, Education and Technology by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) The JRC is the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. Contact information Name: Antonio Corral Address: Zuatzu Enpresa Parkea, Edificio Urumea, 1º, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain Email: [email protected] Tel: +34 943 42 66 10 EU Science Hub https://ec.europa.eu/jrc JRC122651 Seville: European Commission, 2020 © European Union, 2020 The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not owned by the EU, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. All content © European Union 2020 How to cite this report: Corral, A. and Isusi, I., Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain, European Commission, 2020, JRC122651. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain A qualitative survey Antonio Corral, Iñigo Isusi IKEI Research & Consultancy Abstract The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated home confinement measures in March 2020 urged many Spanish companies and their workers to “improvise” a teleworking practice for which not much previous experience was available. The qualitative survey results show that a large proportion of Spanish workers have accepted telework in relatively good terms, where a majority of them would be ready to telework more in the future if a balanced combination with physical presence at the workplace could be managed. Notwithstanding this, the research also identified some particularly conflictive issues related to conciliation (difficult to manage when all day at home), worktime (sometimes extended and problematic to stop) and occupational health, both physical (MSD related) and psychosocial (feelings of isolation). Keywords: Telework, COVID-19, Confinement, Spain, Work organisation, Job quality, Work-life balance Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Authors: Antonio Corral, Iñigo Isusi (IIKEI Research & Consultancy) Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Marta Fana, Enrique Fernández-Macías, Santo Milasi, and Joanna Napierala, all at the JRC of the EC, for proving helpul comments on an earlier version of this paper. Joint Research Centre reference number: JRC122651 Related publications and reports: Fana, M., Milasi, S., Napierala, J., Fernandez Macias, E. and Gonzalez Vazquez, I., Telework, work organisation and job quality during the COVID-19 crisis: a qualitative study, European Commission, 2020, JRC122591. Fana, M., Torrejón Pérez, S. and Fernández-Macías, E. (2020), Employment impact of Covid-19 crisis: from short term effects to long terms prospects, J. Ind. Bus. Econ. 47, 391– 410. Milasi, S., González Vázquez, I., Fernández Macías, E. (2020), Telework in the EU before and after the COVID-19: where we were, where we head to, JRC Science for Policy Brief. Sostero, M., Milasi, S., Hurley, J., Fernandez-Macias, E., Bisello, M. (2020), Teleworkability and the COVID-19 crisis: a new digital divide? (No. 2020-05), Joint Research Centre (Seville site). Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Methodological issues ...................................................................................................................... 8 Resources available at home and previous experience with telework ............................................ 10 Telework during the Covid-19 situation – General assessment ..................................................... 12 Work organisation issues ................................................................................................................ 13 Job quality issues ............................................................................................................................ 17 Work-life balance ........................................................................................................................... 22 Prospects and general outlook ........................................................................................................ 25 Some conclusions from the research .............................................................................................. 28 Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Introduction Telework has been until now a minority option within the Spanish Labour market. Thus, and according to the latest 2019 data for the Spanish Labour Force Survey, approximately 8.3% of the Spanish working population teleworked, either occasionally or more than half of their working days. However, following the declaration on 14 March of a 'state of alarm' in Spain by the Royal Decree 463/2020 for the management of the health crisis caused by COVID-19, the Spanish Government approved a package of employment-related measures through the publication of the Royal DecreeLaw 8/2020, 17 March, on urgent measures to cope with the economic and social impact of COVID19. Specifically, together with home confinement measures, the Spanish Government strongly recommended that companies should allow teleworking for those employees whose functions can be carried out from home and in those situations when this was technically and reasonably possible and if the effort required was proportionate. This preference for teleworking arrangements has been extended in time, and in fact is still part of the Royal Decree-Law 21/2020, from 9 June, regulating measures for the implementation of the back to normal process. In that sense, companies have to adopt measures for the progressive reinstatement of face-to-face work and "the promotion of the use of telework" when possible. Finally, Royal-decree 28/2020, of September 22nd on telework 1 , states that the generalization of teleworking as a consequence of the pandemic has resulted in a kind of imbalance of rights and obligations between companies and workers. Thus, this legislation is intended to help business and worker parties to transfer the protective nature of labour law to the new reality. This rule is, moreover, the result of social agreement, of a process of shared reflection and debate with social partners and takes also into account the European Framework Agreement on Telework. The new law applies to those employees who telework at least 30% of their weekly workday during a quarter, which is equivalent to a minimum of two days a week. The legislation specifies that remote work must be voluntary and reversible for the worker and the company, and that must be applied guaranteeing equal rights and obligations for the entire workforce. In that sense, the employee who works remotely must sign an agreement with the company and the company will be obliged to cover the expenses caused by this operational dynamic. 1 https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rdl/2020/09/22/28. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Methodological issues During the month of March 2020, a total of 25 interviews were carried out with workers who were teleworking from home because of the confinement. Interviewees were identified mainly through personal contacts of the research team and other work colleagues. The personal and occupational profile of the interviewees was as follows: Table 1: Distribution of respondents by socio-demographic characteristics and job profile. VARIABLE CATEGORIES No interviewees Gender Male 13 Female 12 Age <=45 13 >45 12 Type of household Couple with children 15 Couple without children 3 Single person 5 Other 2 Sector of Activity Services 17 Manufacturing 8 Private/public employee Private 21 Public 4 Occupational level High 21 Medium-Low 4 Type of contract Permanent 22 Temporary 3 Working time Full time 23 Part time 2 Contact with clients/other people Yes 16 No 9 Intensity of ICT use High 16 Medium 8 Low 1 As it can be observed, the sample is well balanced in terms of gender and age, while in terms of household composition there is a majority of couples with children vs other types, somewhat above the real proportion of this group in Spain. As for the sector of activity there is a predominance of workers in the service sector than in manufacturing, which is consistent with their respective weights in the Spanish employment (though not necessarily in the teleworkers collective). The same happens regarding private sector employees, much more present in the sample than public sector personnel. Regarding occupational level, the majority of the interviewed teleworkers are placed in the high level segment (professionals, engineers, consultants, lawyers, publishers, teachers, etc.), with only few cases of medium or low level occupations (one OSH technician and several office clerks). Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey On the other hand, about two thirds of the interviewees have a high level of ICT use in their job, and a similar proportion has direct contact with clients or other people. Finally, the great majority of the teleworkers in the sample work with a permanent contract and full time. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey from the employees. Moreover, this seems to have happened mainly at the beginning of the confinement, when telework systems were still being deployed. In any case: “Production targets have been made more flexible due to the coronavirus crisis, as workload has reduced. The same happens with deadlines, which have been extended, not because of teleworking but of the general situation”. This has been especially clear regarding commercial tasks and contacts with clients, which have been reduced practically to nothing. This increased flexibility is recognised by many teleworkers, though at the same time most of them declare that work procedures remained the same as before. Only in the case of teachers these procedures have changed significantly, as classes have been given in remote or by podcasts, exams have also been on line, etc. Apart from that group, in few cases there is a specific mention of the change from paper to digital when having to record activities, tenders, forms, etc. and to telephonic attention to clients instead of face-to-face contacts. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Job quality issues Pay and compensation issues Concerning payment and compensation issues, approximately only 1 out of 5 respondents have experienced a loss of income since the start of the confinement period, fully explained by the cease of activity created by the COVID-19 situation that has affected many activities and that has forced some companies to introduce ad-hoc measures to reduce their pay bills (for instance, via temporary labour force adjustment plans or “Expedientes de Regulación de Empleo (ERTE)” in Spanish). In other cases, this reduction in wages has come via the removal of travel expenses due to the confinement situation. There is no clear pattern of individuals affected by this loss of income, in the sense that it affects individuals irrespectively of their level of skills, sector or occupation. "Due to the confinement and the fall in activity, we have had to take many measures in the company, including the drop in wages". By way of contrast, 4 out five respondents suggest that they have not experienced any loss of income since the start of the confinement period. Notwithstanding this, a relatively large number of them (approximately 4 out of ten) suggest that in case the future economic evolution of the economy in general and the company in particular is not good enough, there is a certain risk of losing income in the near future. “In the short term I have not experienced changes in remuneration, but if the stagnation situation continues, there may be. For example, the company is thinking of applying an ERTE, at a date and scope still undecided". On the other hand, approximately one out of three interviewees suggest that their company has supported them during this transition to telework, through different ways. Typical responses include the provision of hardware tools (laptops and mobile phones) and technical advice/ad-hoc training to effectively use the telework tools. There are also some examples of companies underpinning an ERTE process where the company is supporting their employees, either advancing in time the payments received from the Public Employment Service or compensating the reduction in wages derived from the introduction of these ERTEs to different degrees, depending on their position in the company. Unfortunately enough, there is one example where the interviewee had to buy herself her laptop. Interestingly also, this situation corresponds to a medium skilled person with a temporary contract at that moment. Intrinsic quality of work issues The largest part of interviewees (approximately two-thirds of respondents) suggest that the new telework situation has had a neutral effect, either in terms of the quality of work, motivation, satisfaction with the job, skills use or productivity (in this last case, the percentage reduces a bit). On the contrary, only a minority of interviewees (one out of five) reckon that telework has negatively affected the quality of their work or their productivity levels, whereas for the remaining items the number of individuals negatively affected is even lower. There is not a clear pattern of interviewees in this group (for instance in terms of gender, age or family status). “My productivity levels during the workday have been reduced due to having to take care of the children. Then I make up for it in hours when the children are asleep or I take turns with my husband”. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey By way of contrast, a relatively higher proportion of individuals suggest that telework has had a positive impact on their motivation and satisfaction at work (approximately one out of four interviewees). Equally to the former case, there is not a clear pattern of interviewees in this group, which includes different occupations and household compositions. "I think teleworking itself has had a very positive effect. I have been able to make the most of the time, rest better and organize myself very well. Further-more, teleworking has given me technical knowledge of different platforms, I have continued my tasks without problems and I have learned in this process”. "Teleworking has increased my ICT skills, since before for example I did not use programs like Skype and now I use it on a daily basis". Employment quality issues Concerning employment quality issues, all the interviewees suggest that the current telework situation is not going to affect their job, even if they may have a temporary contract. In this regard, one of the interviewees stress that companies are introducing short-term adjustments via salaries and not via job-cuts. Approximately, 1 out of five interviewees suggest that this positive expectation may change in the medium term in case the economic situation may further deteriorate in the coming months, where this perspective is shared by individuals, irrespectively of their contract status. "I hope there will be a quick recovery. If the general economic stagnation situation continues over time, we could have problems” Linked to the previous point, the largest majority of interviewees suggest that working from home is not having any negative repercussions on their recognition and career opportunities. On the contrary, some individuals suggest that telework has facilitated the assumption of new skills and capabilities that are very valued by companies (for instance in terms of tele-managing teams). Notwithstanding this, there are only a couple of interviewees that reckon that teleworking practices will have a negative impact on their careers. For instance, one interviewee alerts that, in normal circumstance, teleworkers may become “invisible” for the company in comparison to those present workers. Other interviewee stresses the limits of telework, particularly for those individuals with commercial duties and in direct contact with clients: “Telework is fine as long as it is combined with business travel. Virtually every-thing can be done remotely but (physical) customer visits are essential. Tele-conferences work but up to a certain point. You have more influence on customers being physically with them”. Health and safety issues As far as health and safety issues are concerned, approximately one out of three interviewees suggest that their physical health has been negatively affected by the current situation of “forced” telework. It is interesting to stress that all these affected interviewees are over their forties, and nearly all live in couples with children. Typical examples of physical health problems mentioned include sight problems (derived from small laptops screens) as well as postural/musculoskeletalassociated pain in the back/neck (usually associated to poor ergonomic chairs and lack of Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey movement). Some individuals also suggest acoustic problems (linked to the lack of a proper/noise isolated space as the working space may be shared with other elements such as the TV set). “It is true that I am noticing some posture problems due to the lack of an ergonomic chair. Also, I notice the theme of the screens, since in the office I have 2 large screens. I have begun to notice sight problems" "I miss my "super table" at work and, although I have been fine, I would like to have more space, to be more comfortable" “I have missed having the right place, material and facilities similar to those in the office (second screen, printer/scanner, correct chair and correct Internet connection). If I had them, it would have been perfect”. Meanwhile, and as far as psychological/mental health issues are concerned, up to three out of four interviewees report suffering from these type of problems, where this group of persons comprise a wide array of characteristics in terms of age, gender or family status situations. Also, approximately 1 out of four interviewees suggest suffering from both physical and mental health problems. Typical psychological problems mentioned include higher levels of stress and anxiety (often linked to the perceived workload or the insecurity with the hardware and software and), sleep problems and, in some cases, certain levels of social isolation from colleagues at work. Problems related to “workaholism” are also mentioned, but only by a limited number of interviewees. "I am a bit of a disaster with the schedules, you get up later, you eat something, you work throughout the day, more distributed, but less productive". By way of contrast, most of the interviewees reckon to have freedom to decide when and how often to take their own break times. This situation is sometimes “generated” by external elements, such as the obligations generated by the family needs “More than work alcoholism, I would say that I need more time to do the same job due to the interruption of having 2 children around me asking questions about school. I don't want my productivity and performance to be affected by teleworking, therefore I spend more time finishing things pending. I may feel more stressed in that regard", For some interviewees, the confinement situation, together with the current social and economic uncertain situation in Spain, have aggravated these problems. As one of the interviewees suggests, Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey “The greater sedentary lifestyle that teleworking entails, together with the current confinement situation, is sure to be affecting my physical health. Before, I walked to and from work for almost an hour, and I also walked a lot in the office itself. This reduced mobility, in addition to the general uncertainty, are also affecting my mental health”. Also, some interviewees (a very small percentage in any case) denounce that their companies have not provided them with proper guidance in order to prevent these physical and psychological health problems. Notwithstanding these problems, we have identified several interviewees that reckon that the current “forced telework” situation has affected them positively, in the sense that they work more concentrated, avoid “toxic colleagues” and feel they have more time for themselves “Thanks to teleworking I have much less stress. I work the same time as if I were in the office, but I avoid distractions and I'm much more focused on the job” "Teleworking is helping me to reduce the stress generated by other colleagues at work, it is helping me to take a distance to a very absorbing type of work and to recover a tranquillity that is not possible in the office (there are no walls in my office , it is an open floor with a lot of noise, conversations, etc). I really like my job, and teleworking I concentrate very well and I spend my eight hours, even if I'm tired, but the stress of the office has been reduced. In addition, my health has improved because I am working in a much friendlier environment, I do not have to commute to the other edge of the city, I eat much better, I rest better, I am calmer and I lose much less time”. Working time issues More than 3 out of four interviewees suggest that they have experienced changes in their working time, although not in all cases these changes are due to the new telework regime per se. In this regard, the nature and content of the concrete work influences changes in the duration, flexibility and intensity of the work. Generally speaking, and as far as the duration of the working time is concerned, a bit more than half of those experiencing changes suggest that their working time has increased. This situation is explained in the large part of cases due to the new circumstances opened by the confinement and the telework possibilities (a good example of this is given by the case of teachers, whose working time has increased in order to accommodate to the new tele-learning needs). “I work many more hours than before when the face-to-face teaching sessions. All the teachers are devoting in a lot of hours. This has forced us to reorganize and reinvent everything, and for this we have devoted many more hours than before. I myself have dedicated twice hours as much to it, without exaggeration”. In other cases, interviewees suggest that they have extended their working time beyond desirable, often explained by the inexistence of external time limits imposed (for instance, the closure of the office). Also the need to conciliate work with domestic chores may have had an influence on the perception of working time extension. "The duration of work time has been extended many times beyond normal since there is no obligation to leave the workplace, since you are at home." “During the confinement situation, and with the whole family at home and having no activities outside, working hours have been longer in my case. Being at home and with the computer always connected, my working hours have been extended". Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey In terms of intensity, most of the interviewees suggest that they do not feel that their work intensity has increased. Some exceptions have been found, particularly amongst those persons in management positions, who were responsible of managing the work of others and felt an increase in their work intensity, particularly at the beginning of the confinement, when many arrangements for telework had to be made. “Especially during the initial confinement days, I hardly had moments of tranquillity, there were a lot of things to organize at work. Currently, the situation has calmed down and I am doing better”. By way of contrast, less than half of those experiencing changes suggest that their working time has decreased. In many of these cases, this situation is explained either by a reduction of the workload (due to the slowdown in activities) or, in other cases, by ad-hoc time reductions imposed by the company as part of the ERTE procedures. “I used to work 40 hours a week before COVID-19 and now my working time has obligatorily changed to 35 hours. The difference will be adjusted in the future in terms of vacation days”. On the other hand, and as far as working time flexibility are concerned, it could be suggested that, unless the case of those workers under external demands (clients, other colleagues, etc), most of the interviewees have had the opportunity to adjust their work schedules to their own circumstances and needs. “With the confinement situation, the working time has been much more flexible. I usually work with previous appointments, with a very demanding schedule, every half hour I have to attend a person and give an answer to his/her request. Now, teleworking, I manage myself the calls, the work is more fluid. I don't have an obligation to be with a person every half hour and close things”. "I have total flexibility to organize my work day (which was more rigid before), but I have seen that the length of the working day has been extended in time". Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Work-life balance General assessment Concerning work-life balance issues, approximately one out of three interviewees suggest that they have experienced differences and difficulties in work-life balance since the confinement and start of teleworking. It is interesting that the largest part of these affected individuals live in couples with young children, irrespectively of their gender. "Confinement and teleworking have led us to a more “intense” family life: There have been somewhat difficult moments with our little baby" “Generalizing is complicated, it depends on the circumstances and the days. But in general I would say that it has been complicated. I have not been able to work as much as I would have liked. It is all the housework, the children and we are without outside help”. By way of contrast, and for the remaining two thirds of interviewees, they reckon not having experienced particular difficulties. In this regard, and in the case of individuals living in couples with children, they often suggest that the fact that children are relatively older has helped a lot to avoid possible problems. “There have been no special problems. With older children, reconciliation does not entail difficulty, it is not like when you have small children”. "The changes introduced by teleworking have been positive: I have saved time for my personal life from previous commuting, I have been able to cook healthier and eat at home, I have been able to better take care of my dog, etc. In general, the organization of my life is much easier with teleworking. Easier and more restful”. Meanwhile, and in terms of satisfaction in balancing your work with your personal/family life, the largest part of interviewees (approximately two thirds of respondents suggest a high level of satisfaction, even amongst many who reckon difficulties in work-life balance. “The situation generated by COVID-19 and telework has allowed me more family life time, eating with my children, supporting them with more tranquillity in their school tasks, more leisure shared with them (movies, ...), also more time for me by not having to bring them and take them to all the extracurricular activities they had… The truth is that apart from all the stress of being all at home all day I am enjoying these little moments” “Yes, I am satisfied with the experience, but largely because my wife is the one who cares for my young daughter, which requires a lot of dedication. If she didn't, I couldn't telework. " "In my case, and since I live alone reconciliation is not a problem". By way of contrast, only one out of ten interviewees stress that their level of satisfaction is low, where in all cases, this situation corresponds to individuals (either men or women) living couples with young children. “We find it quite difficult to combine work with children at home. I work in the afternoons and my husband in the morning, in order to take care of the children”. "I have the feeling that you are not fully with the children, helping them ... And at work, bad feelings too, because you don't do everything you have to do¡¡¡. Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Division at work at home Nearly six out of ten interviewees have introduced changes in the daily organisation of caring/housekeeping tasks since the confinement period. In this regard, typical answers include devoting more time to some duties that were previously purchased outside (typically cooking or housekeeping), as well as other activities such as taking care of children education, doing the shopping, getting out the dog, etc. “Before the confinement we had an external assistant person who came to do the cleaning. Now, we have to take on everything (cleaning, meals, shopping, etc), but we share these duties between both couple members” "Now I prepare meals daily, when before I only did it on weekends" "With the new situation, I can take care of my pet and do not need to resort to an external assistant". A large share of these cases correspond to couples with children, although it is also possible to identify examples of couples with no children and even individuals living in unipersonal households. There are no specific bias in the data based on gender or age. By way contrast, and in the remaining cases, no specific changes have been introduced. In this sense, the former distribution of caring/housekeeping activities remain the same. "The distribution of tasks remains the same: shopping and cooking for my husband and cleaning the home for me". It is interesting to notice that, in a relatively large number of cases (approximately six out of ten cases), both members of the family have been obliged to telework at the same time, where this situation has fostered the introduction of these changes in the daily organisation of caring/housekeeping tasks. Finally, none of the interviewees received any regular help with childcare or elderly care from a day care centre, a nursery, a babysitter, or relatives. In this regard, the confinement situation has obliged individuals and families to arrange their own individual solutions to cope with this type of problems, where in some cases, this situation has redounded in big difficulties to reconcile with work duties. “Before the confinement situation, my mother used to go to a day care centre and I went to work. Therefore, while I was working I did not have to worry about the care of my mother. But as a result of the new situation, the day care centres closed and literally left me with my mother situation without any solution. This has been a problem and I have had to cope with my dependent mother, sometimes in a bad way. Of course, this situation has not facilitated my telework experience”. Time management Concerning time management issues, it is interesting to underline the important time devoted to commuting to work, which has been “saved” during the confinement period for other purposes. In this sense, and on average terms, interviewees suggest devoting approximately 1 hour of their time to go and return from work, with some people even devoting up to 2 hours and more to commute. It should be stressed that a large part of the interviewees use different public or private transport means (buses, motorcycles, cars, etc.), which represents an additional expense that has been saved during the confinement. “I live 20 kilometres from the office. When there is a lot of traffic, it can take me up to an hour to reach the company. So I like to telework, I save all that time for myself". Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Concerning the use made to this “saved” time, the array of answers is very wide, depending on the specificities and personal “needs” of each individual. In this regard, main typical answers include “sleep more”, “taking things more calm”, “eat better”, “spend more time with kids and family”, “cook more” or “devote more time for hobbies (sport/yoga, reading, etc.)”. Of course, all these elements are very positively valued by the interviewees. “I get up a little later than before and sleep more. Then, in the afternoon, I take the opportunity to do some exercises that I should do because of back problems that I have. I live at a calmer pace and I can rest much more". "I use it to eat quietly with the family, since before I used to eat quickly in the company". Notwithstanding, approximately one out of ten interviewees suggest that they are not saving time but, on the contrary, devote more time to work than before, an element that is not positively valued at all. Nearly all these cases correspond to women with children at home. “I have not saved time; on the contrary, I devote now much more time to work than before”. Interestingly also, the majority of interviewees have changed their life routines since the confinement period. In this regard, and in addition to the changes introduced in the daily organisation of caring/housekeeping tasks (see previous section 7.2.), some interviewees have introduced new routines in their daily life, for instance, in terms of doing some sport or cooking “more sophisticated” dishes. “With the confinement, I have started doing some yoga and mindfulness exercises”. Notwithstanding this, one out of four interviewees stress that they have not changed or introduced new routines in their life. Typically, these individuals correspond to either men living in unipersonal households or couples (either men or women) with aged children. Finally, and in relation to the need to combine work-related responsibilities with other responsibilities related to helping child(ren) with online education or taking care of elderly family people, this situation is only relevant for a limited share of the interviewees (for instance, for those who have very young children aged less than 14 years). In this regard, and for the large majority who have had to cope with these situations, this seems to have been a certain “challenge” “I have had to devote a lot of attention to my little son, to follow him up and guide him a little in his school work. Instead, my 13 and 15 year old daughters are relatively independent and have not required much help from me”. "We, brothers and sisters, have taken turns to be with our mother during the first six weeks of confinement and to help her in any way possible." Impact of the COVID-19 confinement measures on telework in Spain – A qualitative survey Prospects and general outlook Well-being feelings during the period of confinement Generally speaking, and despite existing difficulties, the large majority of interviewees (approximately more than eight out of ten) assess their experience of telework as very positive. In some cases, this positive perception is quite “extreme”. “I would be delighted to be able to telework every day. If it was up to me I wouldn't go back to the office”. Positive elements linked to telework include the possibility to self-organisation and distribution of working time, more capacity to concentrate on the work, saved commuting times (and associated expenses), more time for other things (for instance for leisure) or, in the case of individuals with family duties, a better reconciliation of work and family. By way of contrast, negative elements linked to telework include, amongst other, difficulties in developing personal relationships and the exchange of ideas with clients and colleagues, as well as certain problems of social isolation and difficulties to disconnect from work for some individuals. Of course, the extreme confinement situation has added certain elements that are beyond teleworking in itself (for instance, more people at home, a high level of anguish linked to the COVID situation, etc.) “I think the telework experience would have been very pleasant if it had occurred in a normal situation, that is, teleworking when everyone else is in their daily routines (the children at school, my partner at work). But we all have had to be at home at the same time and that has made things difficult. At the beginning it was quite difficult but I already do better”. “At the beginning, I was more nervous, misplaced, maybe it was more complicated for me, but I think I'm actually confusing teleworking with the confinement situation and they are two different things”. By way of contrast, less than two out of ten interviewees suggest a bad or average assessment of their experience of telework. Most of these individuals (either men or women) include couples with small children and interviewees whose job include close interactions with clients/external persons. Also, these interviewees suggest in all cases a bad self-assessment of their own welfare feeling during the confinement situation. Prospects of telework According to the information collected, approximately half of the interviewees believe that their employer will encourage telework in the future, often associated to certain persons and moments in time, and compatible with physical presence. This positive attitude is also prevalent amongst those companies with previous telework experience, and it is often associated with possibilities to further reduce fixed costs as well as a solution for individuals with specific needs (for instance, those who need to reconcile work with some special family needs). "The company believes that teleworking for some people, positions and specific moments will be regarded as a viable alternative. For the future, the company already has plans to do so, and I think it will be a way to both satisfy some employees with special needs as well as a means for the company to save on certain expenses (office rents, for instance). “The experience of teleworking has been positively valued by the company since it has been better than expected. The pace of work has been maintained and things have turned out very well. GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE EU In person All over the European Union there are hundreds of Europe Direct information centres. 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