Apartment-like offices with a living room, kitchen and bathroom, working from home, even if it is now in a different country than the one in which the business is located and operates, and more general signs of work being disconnected from the traditional boundaries of space, time, structure or even addictions appear in the Greek labor market, which follows – perhaps more cautiously – the new trends of the global reality.

The phenomenon of the division of labor became more pronounced in our country during the pandemic, with the mandatory introduction of remote work. At the same time, also due to the needs created by the unprecedented health crisis, the proliferation of platform activities, a phenomenon that is difficult to cope even at the level of the European Union, given the heterogeneity of labor relations, business models, types of work platforms and raised cross-border issues.

The new data generated by the pandemic, the rise of teleworking, rising energy costs, and what this means for businesses, employees, and governments have set a new stage for discussion about how the work environment will ultimately shape the future.

Now we are talking about another work, modern work, the place of implementation of which is no longer strictly defined, stable and unchanging. A typical example of violation of strict restrictions on the place of work is the tendency of an increasing number of business groups to post employees of one company to another company of the group within the European Union. What is already observed in our country, mainly in the field of telecommunications, as well as in cases of mergers of large transnational insurance companies. Employees, for example, may work in Greece when the headquarters is in Brussels, or they may work in Greece and the headquarters is in Cyprus.

More and more groups are sending workers from one company to another within a group within the EU.

The purpose of the secondment is to cover the needs of the group by providing work in another EU Member State. on a temporary basis. European legislation for posted workers, according to legal expert on labor issues Yiannis Karouzos, limits the period of posting to 12 months with a possible extension of six months. With regard to pay, all host country rules applicable to local workers also apply to all posted workers, i.e. the principle of equal pay for the same work in the same place applies.

In addition, in its resolution of 25 November 2021, the European Parliament on the creation of a European Social Security Passport to improve the digital security of social security rights stressed the need for a pan-European digital tool for all mobile workers, including posted workers. . Such an instrument, according to Mr. Caruso, will be able to ensure effective identification, consolidation and transfer of social security rights and improve compliance with EU rules. regarding labor mobility and the coordination of social security systems in the labor market in a fair and efficient manner.

Another way of separating the workplace in the classical sense, introduced several years ago, but which has become especially noticeable recently due to the pandemic, is remote work. Both remote work and other hybrid forms of employment are here to stay, as European Parliament Commissioner Nicholas Schmitt noted in his speech. Based on a study by Eurofound, it is estimated that about 37% of work can be done remotely.

Modern remote work and smart work systems are also particularly widespread in banking institutions. Looking at Kifisia’s growth, one can see new bank branches designed like residential buildings, with reception in the home living room and home kitchen, so that the employee and, secondly, the client feel that they are in a familiar environment.