Up to 60 percent mobile office: Ringier launches hybrid work model
At media company Ringier, employees will be able to work flexibly throughout Switzerland from September. Instead of a mandatory return to the office, Ringier is relying on a hybrid work model. The framework is the new Ringier Mobile Office Policy, which allows up to 60 percent mobile working. Daily office presence is no longer mandatory.
Since March 2020, the approximately 7,000 employees of the Ringier Group have predominantly been working from home. Surveys of the CEOs of the individual companies at the beginning of 2021 had revealed that the majority of employees would like to continue working on a mobile basis beyond the current Corona pandemic - at least one day a week, often even more. Ringier's Group Executive Board has decided that mobile working should remain an integral part of the working culture within Ringier in Switzerland, even after the end of the statutory home office obligation. The newly presented Mobile Office Policy applies as a recommendation for the affiliated Swiss companies, as well as for the international holdings in 17 other countries.
Marc Walder, CEO Ringier, says: "Remote solutions and flexible workflows have defined our everyday working life for 16 months. This changeover has succeeded in the best possible way thanks to the innovative strength and great personal responsibility of all our employees. A flexible work culture should therefore continue to be part of Ringier in the future. Starting in September, we will introduce a 60:40 mobile office policy, which sums up our understanding of agility in collaboration: This can sometimes be in the office (at least 40 percent) and sometimes at an individually chosen work location (up to 60 %). In the future, our employees should work where they can concentrate optimally and feel comfortable. Where the infrastructure allows healthy working."
Susanne Jud, Chief People Officer, Ringier AG, adds: "Mobile working will continue to be possible for everyone, insofar as the nature of the respective activity basically allows it. However, Ringier will not become an organization that relies exclusively on remote work. Our corporate culture is far too strongly characterized by personal interaction for that - and we want to maintain that. In the future, only a few colleagues will probably work in our offices five days a week. With the new, long-term Ringier Mobile Office Policy, we are enabling more flexibility, self-determination and personal responsibility within the daily work organization."
Teams decide on work location and team days
Today in the office, tomorrow at home or at any other location: In the future, employees and their supervisors will decide who works where and when. This is based on the hybrid 60:40 working model, which combines presence and mobile times. At Ringier AG in Switzerland, working in the office will be the same as working at an individually determined location from September. Regular physical interaction is important, which is why the Ringier Mobile Office Policy provides for fixed, shared team days per week.
