Taiwanese business builds on domestic skepticism adds to COVID challenge Coronavirus pandemic News

Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan has been praised worldwide for its rapid response to COVID-19, but as it emerges from high school, a new vulnerability to the disease has emerged from an unexpected corner: its workplace culture.

When Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Control Center issued a “Level 3” warning in Taipei and New Taipei, where nearly a third of Taiwan’s population lives, new restrictions on the size of meetings were imposed over the weekend and masks were forced to be made public. Employers were also asked to allow people to work from home.

The streets were empty over the weekend while neighbors hid in the house. Monday came as it seemed like everyone was going to work, even though the outbreak was the worst on the island since December 2019.

It seems that employers would need more encouragement to let employees work from home.

“The key issue is that the government is taking a deregulated approach to business and not pushing for change. We are finally tackling this problem right now with having to work from home in Taiwan, which calls into question the whole work structure,” said Roy Ngerng. , a Singaporean who writes about salary issues in Taiwan, among other jobs.

“How to tell people to take leave to take care of their children or stay home or take them to a family doctor [because of] COVID-19? How do you not pay? he said.

Like much of East Asia, Taiwan’s workplaces have a reputation for being highly hierarchical, with long hours spent in front of the office above other productivity measures.

“Knowledge for employees” – for people working in areas such as accounting, law, design and programming – Harvard University researchers have shown that working from home in the short term can increase productivity and job satisfaction because it is able to organize people. save their schedule and time by not attending meetings.

The government has not put any subsidies on those who work from home, especially when it was crucial to close schools until May 28 in Taipei and Taipei New Town, telling parents that they were legally allowed to take care of their children but would have to negotiate. any salary with their employer.

On social media, there were allegations that those in charge refused to work from home because they could not believe that employees could be equally productive.

They also appeared about employers emphasizing that office workers took turns entering the workplace instead of working remotely. Others were told they could work from home, but they would not pay.

While working at a university research center in the early days of the pandemic, Ngerng recalls that even in the academic environment, management was uncomfortable with staff working from home, even though most of the work could easily be done online. When they worked remotely, they had to check in three times a day via video call, he said.

Manufacturing heritage

Christine Chen, a Winkler Partners at the Taipei law firm, heads the employment and immigration law division and said Taiwan’s focus on working from home is largely determined by the industry.

He said many workers in the technology industry have been working from home all year, but government data show that 97.5 per cent of businesses are classified as “small and medium-sized enterprises”, which is not common in other sectors. .

“I think it’s quite different depending on the industry,” he said. “They are accustomed to technology, from home or work – if the employee is still able to deliver a product or finish the project on time. But it’s not trustworthy for local companies, it’s about the product … the kind of work that matters can generate revenue for the company,” he said. he said most small Taiwanese businesses don’t think they can take the risk. .

Chen, who also works from home, hopes the government will take steps to provide support or tax breaks in other industries, such as the service sector or to cover the salaries of those who cannot work in food and beverages.

Until Taiwan reaches level 4 – a complete shutdown – private companies have been advised to allow workers to work from home, although local governments in Taipei and Taipei City have allowed officials to work remotely or work more flexible hours.

As The rest of Taiwan was placed in 3rd place on Wednesday, the government has yet to provide an economic comment to allow companies to work remotely.

Taiwan has raised the alert level with the new outbreak, but companies have only been advised to allow people to work from home and many are resilient. [Sam Yeh/AFP]

Mark Stocker, a 30-year-old American living in Taiwan, said he has no intention of closing the office to a brand consultant who works as a general manager unless the government declares a Level 4 alert.

“I would like to see everyone in the office contribute to communication,” he said. His company has about 20 employees. “As a manager of a company you have to decide how the rules are made and how to get everyone to agree on a set of rules, and my policy is that because we are a foreign company operating in Taiwan, I have found it easier to follow government rules.”

Stocker said Taiwan’s work culture is a hangover from its manufacturing roots, and that office and university staff also need to get in and out, and is sometimes embarrassed by the delay.

His first job on the island was at a company that made bicycle pedals and only 10 minutes later he realized the difference in work culture when he was paid a salary.

“The priority for everyone in the office is to work from home. I think more than anything that Taiwan was a nation of manufacturing and that it starts from what it remains.” he said. “Most of the GDP (gross domestic product) is related to exports. That’s obvious and you need people to run a factory in the factory and on time. ”