Open Plan Office

Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon!

Newsletter - 2021-05-21, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post

*update 22.02.2022: we’re hearing that colleagues are changing DG in order to avoid open space/hot-desking. Is this you? Get in touch, we’d like to hear from you!*

In the COVID information meeting of 30 April 2021, the Director of Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB), Mr Marc Becquet, accused trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) of spreading fear and discontent among staff by sending too many messages and tracts on hot-desking and workplace arrangements. Continue reading Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon! →

New teleworking scheme: longer working days and more micromanagement?

Childcare, Health, IT kit for telework, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2021-04-28, Open Plan Office, Staff Regulations Reform, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

During our 13 months of compulsory 100% teleworking for almost all of us, Generation 2004 has submitted to DG HR countless requests to start a dialogue on the conditions under which staff were and are expected to work from home – both in the current force majeure global-pandemic situation and when staff are able to go back to the office. DG HR finally reached out to the trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) for a social dialogue meeting focusing on teleworking (16 April) which we very much hope to be the first of many such meetings. Continue reading New teleworking scheme: longer working days and more micromanagement? →

Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates

Childcare, COVID-19, Leave, Newsletter - 2021-03-26, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 11.10.2022 Covid booster II campaign is starting soon (again medical service in Brussels and national authorities elsewhere) and flu vaccine is already available on some sites* Commissioner Hahn said in his video message (16.3.2021) that ‘we are all impatient to be free again’. At this stage, please allow me to modify his message and stress that ‘we are all impatient to be finally vaccinated’ (at least most of us). After 1 year of teleworking at home we are all fed up with this situation and cannot wait to resume a normal life. While entering the third wave, we are facing yet another lockdown. As most countries begin to tighten the restrictions, the vision of going to visit our loved ones over the Easter period seems to be vanishing. The pressure is high, our workload has increased, some of us at the brink of burnout, digital overload is a hard reality and some of us are worried about our family members in other Member States, which are currently fighting for their lives. Continue reading Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates →

The ONE: the latest casualty of the hot-desking policy of the Commission

Health, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post
A silent revolution, without the involvement of staff and staff representatives.

One year ago, on Friday 13 March 2020, we were all told to go home and start teleworking. No one would have imagined at the time that by now the vast majority of staff would still be doing compulsory 100% telework.

However, while we are sitting at home doing our best to continue delivering on our objectives in spite of all the difficulties created by the pandemic, in our empty buildings things are moving fast. A silent revolution, already well under way, pre-Corona, continues full steam ahead: from DG BUDG, to DG TRADE, to the new Publications Office (OP) (POST-Mercier), to the Jean Monnet 2 (JMO2) and now rue de la Loi. Continue reading The ONE: the latest casualty of the hot-desking policy of the Commission →

CPPT: keeping up the good work to safeguard the health and safety of staff

Health, Newsletter - 2021-02-03, Open Plan Office Print This Post

The Committee for prevention and protection at work (CPPT) recently agreed on the need to request more detailed information – including technical data and the proof that staff have been consulted and agreed with the project – before giving an opinion on two requests to transform office space into an open-plan environment. Continue reading CPPT: keeping up the good work to safeguard the health and safety of staff →

Office-space reorganisation in DG Trade: the latest

Newsletter - 2021-02-03, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal Print This Post

In an article published on 18 December 2020, we informed you about the reply to Generation 2004’s November note to Ms Weyand, Director-General of DG Trade, requesting clarification on their plans for an office-space reorganisation.

We welcomed this reply, however at Generation 2004 we are aware that the devil is often in the detail,  Continue reading Office-space reorganisation in DG Trade: the latest →

Office-space reorganisation: reply from DG Trade

Administrators, Assistants, Contract Agents, Health, Newsletter - 2020-12-18, Open Plan Office Print This Post

Generation 2004 sent a note to Ms WEYAND, Director-General of DG Trade on 4 November 2020 to request clarification on their plans for an office-space reorganisation.

We were contacted in relation to plans to move only assistants/secretaries and clerks (ASTs/AST-SCs) and contract agents (CAs) into shared offices.

Continue reading Office-space reorganisation: reply from DG Trade →

Generation 2004 acts to protect EU staff’s health and well-being

Health, Open Plan Office Print This Post

From the beginning of the open-space saga Generation 2004 has been consistently questioning the wisdom and practicalities of the implementation of collaborative workplaces (‘open space’) in different Commission services. In order to cut costs, the Commission is putting its employees into open-plan offices, spaces it knows to be incompatible with many of the tasks performed and which are known to compromise staff well-being. Continue reading Generation 2004 acts to protect EU staff’s health and well-being →

DG BUDG: the return of the collaborative workspace fad

Health, Newsletter #35 - May 2019, Open Plan Office Print This Post

Colleagues at DG BUDG are the latest victims of yet another Commission fait-accompli collaborative workspace project.

The administration arguments for the project are the usual promotion of communication between colleagues and enhancing collaboration and teamwork in the services. However, if on one side some jobs may benefit from such type of workspace, forcing it down the throats of everyone and without providing a strong rationale, makes us believe that this is just another cost reduction exercise to be pushed on staff at any cost and under no matter which pretext. Continue reading DG BUDG: the return of the collaborative workspace fad →