Moving forth, also from home

Over the last year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people all over the world have had to adapt to a new (temporary) reality. A part of that new reality is working from home for many of us. Our colleagues of IGW Oostkamp, for instance, have been working from home as much as possible since March 2020, but how does it work exactly?

Home office where possible

Currently, the arrangement in Oostkamp (following Belgian legislation) is that our colleagues have to work from home as much as possible. Naturally, for some people it’s not possible to work from home at all. Our blue collars working in production as well as the administrative staff that support them work constantly at the plant. The latter include people involved in planning, quality and logistics. All the other departments work from home as often as possible while assuring that there are people in the office when necessary.

A balanced view

So how do our people feel about working from home? At first, in March of last year, enthusiasm towards working from home was great, but with time, the pros and cons have become clearer. For instance, many people appreciate the advantages of being more involved with their families while also becoming aware of the fact that they feel more isolated the longer they work from home. The balance we currently have, then, is much appreciated. As such, we do feel that working from home will remain in same form once we have emerged from this unusual and challenging time.

Taking all the measures

Naturally, we also have to guarantee the safety of our colleagues who still work at the plant every day. For them, we have spared no effort to ensure that they can work in the best possible circumstances. Indeed, thermal cameras register their body temperature at the beginning of their shift while they are also reminded of wearing face masks and keeping sufficient distance at all times. Furthermore, we have foreseen numerous disinfection stations and even cotton swabs to use the keyboards at the entrance.