70% of Dutch employers plan to ditch work-from-home arrangements

With the coronavirus pandemic seemingly a thing of the past and the widespread shortages in the Dutch labor markets, many employers are looking for ways to force their workers back into the office. Seventy percent of Dutch employers say they will limit work-from-home arrangements and reduce the number of hybrid positions, Financieele Dagblad reports based on an international survey by LinkedIn among executives of 2,900 large companies, including 100 Dutch companies.

The intent to limit work-from-home clashes with job seekers’ priorities. They consider being able to work from home as very important. And that clash may be why not a single executive FD tried to reach was willing to talk to the newspaper about limiting work-from-home.

According to the newspaper, executives are eager to discuss how redesigned office buildings are perfect for staff meeting each other spontaneously and brainstorming successfully. Complaints about work-from-home are only shared off the record. These include concerns about employees losing their sense of involvement in the organization.

But Ralph Jan van der Ham of Holla legal & tax, among others, could confirm that employers are trying to get their workers back to the office. More and more employers have approached the firm with questions on how to achieve this and what their legal rights are. “They want more control and feel that because of all the flexible working, social cohesion is disappearing,” he said to the newspaper. He called it surprising. “You’d expect an employer to be flexible in this tight labor market, but they increasingly want to make a number of office days mandatory.”

“It seems as if we have learned nothing from the coronavirus pandemic,” Marcel Molenaar,” LinkedIn manager for the Benelux area, said to FD. “Executives want more control over the work process, while recent years have shown that letting go and giving trust actually work well. Output should be central, not counting hours.”