labor market

We are pleased to present the fourteenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “Remote Work: The New Normal?”. This time, our primary focus is on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work in the CEE region (and beyond) as well as its impact on work-related spehres of our lives.

Both employers and employees were doing their utmost to maintain performance at work relatively uninterrupted – with the aid of online solutions allowing for remote work. And so, we have suffered a lot, but we have also learned a lot.

With the first shipments of vaccines being distributed at the time of writing this article, the question rises: Is it time for the Hungarian workforce to return to the office? Or, perhaps, the days of the traditional workplace are over.

In recent years, there has been a significant growth of an interest in the gig economy built upon the premise of online platforms that connect customers with service suppliers. Platform work brings more opportunities to traditional businesses by closely connecting suppliers and customers and reducing transaction frictions.

Companies now risk losing their attractiveness if they are unable or unwilling to allow home office, as more and more prospective employees are moving away from physical work, which would increase their vulnerability to the virus.

The second lockdown in Lithuania is no different from the first one: there are no clear principles for economic relief, individual groups are fighting for their own interests, and the government is forced to constantly alleviate the emerging effects of the quarantine. But what if lockdowns persisted?

Large oil field, steel production capacity, or number of tractors produced do not make the company rich. The company grows rich thanks to skilled people in the right place, their excellent skills and ability to adapt to change. As Julian Simon used to say, the ultimate source of wealth is man.

Prior to the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Lithuanian economy had been enjoying a rapid growth. Yet, while the number of available jobs had been increasing, the number of unemployed had remained steadily high.

Addressing and diminishing barriers to the single market in the EU is a much welcome initiative. The initiatives to decrease bureaucracy, to step up efforts to comply with EU law, to evaluate the effects of new regulations on SMEs in impact assessments, and mutual recognition are important steps in promoting growth, free trade, and consumer rights.

The European Commission (EC) has published a study on working conditions of platform workers. Platform work is understood as all labor provided through, on, or mediated by online platforms in a wide range of sectors.