Teleworking saves Belgium 34 million commuter kilometers daily

According to the BeMob survey of the FPS Mobility and Transport, thanks to teleworking, 34 million kilometers are avoided daily, including 16 million by car. The survey, carried out between August 2023 and July 2024, questioned more than 4,000 Belgian workers.

Almost one-third of Belgian employees (31%) work from home at least one day a week, a slightly decreasing proportion compared to last year (33%). Brussels residents telework more regularly: 45% of Brussels respondents say they work at least one day a week from home, compared to 26% of Walloons and 32% of Flemish people.

More teleworkers

According to new figures from SERV, the Social-Economic Council of Flanders, the number of teleworkers in Flanders almost doubled between 2019 and 2023, from 21% to 38%.

The majority of teleworkers work one to two days a week at home, and the most popular days for teleworking are Wednesday (44%) and Friday (52%). The study also reveals that the greater the distance between home and the workplace, the greater the proportion of teleworkers. Beyond 50 km, nearly 60% of respondents work at least one day a week from home.

Five-day working week

However, some companies have completely abandoned teleworking. At Amazon, for example, employees are expected to return to the office daily. Amazon is the first major company to return to pre-corona habits. The question remains whether Flemish employers will demand the same.

Today, teleworking is a privilege for four out of ten workers in Flanders. However, a survey by Acerta this spring shows that one in three bosses wants their staff to be more present in the workplace again but that four in ten employees want to come to the office less. They prefer to work from home for various reasons. Many argue that they can better concentrate at home and that there is a better balance between work and private life.

Little to be gained from teleworking

Many Flemish employers are against teleworking. They mainly see disadvantages for the organization: employees learn less, and work becomes more difficult to organize. According to them, telework does not help productivity in the long term if there is little or no interaction.

And maybe they’re right. According to science, there is little to be gained from it. Some people are distracted by household chores; others work in the evening when the children are asleep. Although teleworking is often seen as a way to keep work stress under control, working from home has little or no effect.

The best arrangement? Although some employers advocate a five-day working week, earlier studies have shown that limited teleworking can be effective. “But the fact that companies now often act at their own discretion is not a good thing,” concludes Hendrik Delagrange, a researcher at SERV.