Leaving with his family in Brittany a week before the holidays and working with a view of the sea while they are at the Mickey club. Or get back to work gently after the summer idleness, staying one more week in his country house. Since Covid-19, more and more French employees have practiced “tracances” (contraction of the words “work” and “vacation”). According to a study by IWG (coworking company) published in June, 31% of workers surveyed in March planned to anticipate or extend their stay at their vacation spot with hybrid work. A figure that even reached 54% among 18-24 year olds? and 45% among 25-34 year olds.
While many companies now allow “traces”, some want to limit them, like Meritis (technology consulting company with 900 employees). “Our employees can telecommute 3 days a week from any location. But we don’t want to go beyond that, because that would make the private sphere and the professional sphere more porous,” explains Eric Varache, the HRD. At Roole, an automobile club which has 300 employees, working in the green, or at the water’s edge, is also supervised: “We authorize a week of teleworking alongside the holidays to simplify the lives of our employees, even if ‘they go abroad, but on condition that there is only a maximum of 2 hours of time difference. A practice that has become frequent, especially in August, “says the HRD, Servane Petit. And, to provide its employees with even greater flexibility, from September, they will be entitled to a credit of 12 days of teleworking per year (in addition to their 2 days per week) which they can use as they wish. But no question of going further. “We want to keep the link,” insists the HRD.
“It is particularly valuable for parent employees”
Fewer are the companies that offer the possibility of XXL “traceances”. As is the case with Evaneos, a company of 165 employees specializing in tailor-made travel: “Some of our employees who had family abroad and wanted to enjoy it as long as possible, asked us for the possibility to telecommute on site after their holidays. Since 2018, we therefore offer those who wish to work remotely at their resort for up to thirty days in a row. A possibility that they can activate up to four times a year. If they are abroad, however, they must ensure that they have half a day with schedules compatible with France and that all the managers are not absent from the offices at the same time, ”says Claire Degueil, the HRD.
A great flexibility, but which is ultimately only used once or twice a year by employees and for an average duration of fifteen days. To attract talent from all over France, some companies in the tech sector have opted for total teleworking, and therefore the possibility of “trace at will”. “It is particularly valuable for parent employees,” notes Jonathan Gilbert, CEO of Kastel and co, a start-up specializing in real estate investment for nine employees.
No loss of productivity observed
But when you work in a house full of people and the invitations to extend lunch or go for a walk on the beach are numerous, do you remain as productive as in the office? Yes, say the leaders in chorus. “Our employees all have ten to twenty years of experience, so they are very independent. And we are planning a meeting on Monday and another on Friday to take stock of everyone’s activity, ”explains Jonathan Gibert. Same observation for Servane Petit: “Our management is based on trust and the employees play the game. It only happened once that an employee abused his freedom of organization at his vacation spot. It was reframed immediately.”
HR managers are more concerned about preserving the balance between professional and personal life: “It is even more difficult when employees are working from home to know if the employee’s workload is not too heavy”, indicates Eric Varache. Especially since several studies have shown that some employees work longer hours when they are working from home: “They tend to keep lots of files to process during their “traces”, because they know that they will be less annoyed than at office,” observes Servane Petit. To prevent employees from remaining too connected in the garden or on a terrace, more and more companies do not plan a meeting before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
A problem of inequity between employees
Another concern: not all employees are equal in the face of “tracances”. “The IT, reception or personnel administration departments are not authorized to take more than one day of telework, which creates a problem of inequity between employees that cannot be resolved. Even if we do education on the subject, it sometimes creates tension, ”says Eric Varache. A difficulty with which Servane Petit is confronted: “Logistics departments and sales representatives need to be on site or at customers’ premises. It’s not always easy for them to see their colleagues benefit from an organizational flexibility that is not possible for them”, she underlines. Last little black spot of “tracances”: “Difficulties in connecting to the Internet in certain resorts, with visios that crash”, notes Jonathan Gilbert.
Inconveniences that will not, however, make companies change course regarding “trace”. Because the benefits of the system are considered superior. “The mental load of employees is released thanks to this system. This is clearly a factor in attracting and retaining our employees,” says Claire Degueil. And thanks to the “tracances” of the end of summer, the employees keep the benefit of their leave longer, notes Eric Varache: “The resumption of work is done gently, which makes the return to face-to-face more serene”.