Qivive launches „6 days per month“
Cologne, September 2020
Following the launch of flexible working hours for all employees in 2018, Qivive established on September 1st the “6-day per month” for the time of the period of the coronavirus pandemic. This new exciting project aimed at balancing home office work and socializing.
In March 2020, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the law firm had to transfer its usual operational work to home office processes within a few days, like many other companies. Thanks to the use of the latest technologies, this transition was a major success.
In July, an internal survey showed that most employees felt very comfortable with working from home and benefited from the time-savings, the quiet environment and the opportunity to freely organize their professional and private lives. At the same time, all colleagues as well as many clients confirmed that the changeover had no negative consequence on customer relations or operational work - the office’s productivity even increased significantly from March to September. The only drawback was the lack of meeting colleagues and clients personally.
In order to combine all interests and cope with this uncertain pandemic situation, Qivive has decided to allow employees to continue working from home until further notice and as long as the pandemic situation remains. The office only asks them to work at the office for 6 days per month (corresponds to 1.5 days per week). It is up to each employee how to organize these office days. On the days at home, the employees are on duty and can be reached via the usual communication channels.
This solution has several advantages: On the one hand, Qivive can mostly maintain these allover appreciated working conditions and leaves room for a comfortable work-life-balance for all employees; due to the few presence days at the office, numerous work stations across the edifice are regularly vacant, which reduces the risk of infection to a minimum and ensures working safely with the necessary social distance. On the other hand, colleagues can meet in person again, which is beneficial to the solidarity and general atmosphere at the office as well as to the integration of new colleagues.
Managing Partner Dr. Christophe Kühl: "The coronavirus pandemic was a shock and a source of great concern for all of us. But it also taught us a lot, got us to act quickly and surprised us with the positive acceptance of internal reorganizations leading to a greater employees’ satisfaction and productivity. We would like to use this experience in future, so as to Qivive remains a reliable partner for our clients and offers a truly pleasant place to work for our colleagues".
