Work Smart: New partnership promotes flexible working

The Commercial Association and the VillageOffice Cooperative are entering into a partnership as of today. Independently of each other, both organizations pursue the goal of promoting modern and flexible forms of work and preparing professionals for the working world of tomorrow. With the new cooperation they want to use common synergies. As a professional association for commercial and business employees, the Kaufmännische Verband currently serves around 46,000 members. VillageOffice has been working since 2016 to build a nationwide network of Partner Spaces. These are coworking spaces embedded in an ecosystem of local service providers. Today, the network consists of around 60 coworking spaces. Under the new partnership, members of the Kaufmännischer Verband are allowed to cowork one day per year for free at one of the selected locations. For all other days, they benefit from a special rate of CHF 30.00 per day.

Companies also benefit

With the new partnership, however, members of the Kaufmännischer Verband benefit from more than just financial advantages. In Switzerland, around 70% of working people commute to a place of work outside their community of residence (BfS 2019). By using nearby coworking spaces as off-site offices or meeting rooms, working people become more flexible in terms of time and geography. Shorter commutes allow more time for family, friends and hobbies. "Our goal is that by 2030, every person in Switzerland will be able to reach the nearest coworking space within 15 minutes by bike or public transport," says Jenny Schäpper-Uster, partner and co-founder of VillageOffice. This not only promotes the local economy and relieves the traffic infrastructure, but also contributes to a better work-life balance. This in turn has a positive effect on motivation and commitment to the company. Coworking spaces benefit not only employees, but also employers. With the external infrastructure, they can offer their employees flexible solutions and save on internal fixed costs at the same time.

Partnership for a better work-life balance

The Commercial Association also sees great potential for the future labor market in the new form of work. The largest increase is currently being recorded by the occupational group with higher functions in the commercial and business management area. They potentially benefit the most from the opportunities for flexible working in terms of time and location. Decentralized working is also becoming increasingly important with the steadily growing gig economy. "At the political level, we are campaigning for a modernization of the labor law and for good framework conditions for new forms of work," explains Ursula Häfliger, responsible for policy at the Commercial Association. The goal, she says, is to favor flexible working while strengthening health protection. "In addition, social security for new forms of work must be guaranteed. Flexible working can be the key to continuing gainful employment, especially for people with non-work commitments." The Commercial Association has a long-standing commitment to work-life balance.

Free coworking during Work Smart Week

The partnership announcement comes just in time for this year's Work Smart Week (work-smart-initiative.ch). From August 26 to 30, 2019, various companies will organize events on topics related to flexible and location-independent working as part of the initiative. Members of the Kaufmännischer Verband and interested parties can try out the Member Spaces of Coworking Switzerland (coworking.ch) free of charge during these days. The Kaufmännische Verband has been a patron of the Work Smart Initiative since it was founded in 2015, and VillageOffice supports the initiative as a partner.

More information: kfmv and VillageOffice