Control of telework during Covid-19 times

The health emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic —and the measures of social distancing and confinement implemented— have boosted telework as well as the debate on its implementation and benefits. Based on the results of a survey carried out in the first weeks of confinement in Spain, this article explores the mechanisms to control work performance of people teleworking and its incidence based on certain individual, organizational and sectoral variables. The results show the transfer of practices typical of face-to-face work to remote work, which, combined with the monitoring of results and the absence of working time recording, can lead to problems in guaranteeing the right to disconnection. The results are complemented by a discussion of the existing literature on telework control and analysis of recent regulatory changes in relation to the telework, the flexible work and the right to disconnect.