Teleworking: strengthening work in times of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Teleworking becomes the alternative for excellence that employers adopt to give continuity to their operations once Executive Decree 42227-MP-S of March 16, 2020 of national emergency due to COVID-19 in Costa Rica is published. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is the entity of the public Administration that regulates the application of telework, which is based on the provisions of the Law to Regulate Telework, Law No. 9738 of September 18, 2019, its Regulations, Decree Executive N ° 42083 of December 20, 2019 and Directive N ° 073-S-MTSS of March 09, 2020. With the declaration of a pandemic, directive No. 073-S-MTSS establishes a series of inter-institutional coordination measures to guarantee compliance with the protocols of the health authorities and implement teleworking guidelines in state offices on the occasion of the health alert. It is important to mention that this measure is of a temporary nature for the public sector, despite the fact that several state agencies have implemented this practice in their institutional work for years, focused on professional positions and that it also impacts operating costs in the use of space or infrastructure. Meanwhile, for the private sector teleworking is a common practice that has a lesser impact on the transition from face-to-face work to a distance modality. The foregoing is a response to the new market demands and interaction with clients, it breaks with the paradigm that work is subject to a specific place and it is verified that for carrying out activities in teleworking positions, these can be carried out anywhere that has facilities through connectivity, the use of modern technologies, communication, safety measures in labor matters and occupational hazards and the commitment of the parties. It is relevant to point out that the regulations approved on teleworking for Costa Rica post COVID-19, promote that public and private organizations adapt the guidelines to internal protocols and policies, which clarify the responsibilities, duties and rights of employers and collaborators, the Which must be guided by internal or external experts who guarantee the implementation of safe measures for occupational and occupational health, and which indirectly affects social and family health, since the home becomes an extension of the office. The new global reality means that the labor market must rethink and evolve towards new concepts of how to do things. Teleworking anticipates the national emergency in the case of Costa Rica for some sectors of the industry, strengthening certain companies that have this alternative to face the demands and needs of their strategic partners, based on compliance with quality standards and security in the provision of goods and services, with only access to virtual, remote or remote work. The methodology used is the bibliographic consultation at the level of laws and decrees on the subject, in addition to a survey directed at people who fulfill the condition of active worker in an organization and who must take advantage of the modality of telework by contingency as a result of the declaration of emergency in the country.