work

The tax system should not be used to implement social policy objectives. The tax system should be purely a mechanism that collects from citizens and companies, in the least distortionary way, the least amount of money necessary for the functioning of the state, the financing of its obligations and its policies.

Unfortunately, we will not celebrate the fifth year of the Bureaucracy Index in the Czech Republic with a reduction in the administrative burden. The bureaucratic burden on small businesses increased by 49 hours year-on-year to 272 hours.

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.

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.

While digitalization has been advancing in many aspects of human life, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in workplaces, trade, doing business, healthcare, education, public administration, and many other spheres.

It has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe and completely transformed the way we think, behave, and work. It has had a great impact on our daily lives – and an even a greater one on the work that we did in the past.

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?

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.