Working from home and distance working

Distance work is work that can be performed at the employer's facilities (regular workplace) but is regularly performed elsewhere, for example at home. Regularity can range from a certain percentage to a number of days per week or month.

At Stockholm University, work must mainly be carried out at the regular workplace, which consists of the university's facilities.

Distance working is an individual agreement between manager and employee. The agreement is voluntary and based on individual employees' different circumstances. Therefore, different assessments may need to be made from case to case. Your manager is responsible for your work environment regardless of whether you are on the university facilities or at the distance workplace.

Rules for distance working at Stockholm University (in Swedish)

Extent of distance work

The university has decided that 1–2 days may be relevant for distance work.

At Stockholm University, work should mainly be carried out at the regular workplace, which is the university's facilities. There is great value in employees meeting at the workplace to facilitate and contribute to collaboration within and between work groups, development of working methods, informal exchange of knowledge, spontaneous meetings and social interaction with colleagues. In light of this, our staff should work at their regular workplace for the majority of their working days.

The distance workplace

The premise that the home should primarily be the distance workplace is based primarily on a work environment perspective. In the home, employers can assume that most of the necessary conditions are in place in terms of, for example, equipment and safety.

Work environment for homeworking

Working from home places different demands on the work environment, the way we organise our work and the social contacts, compared to working in the office. Below are some tips on what to consider when working from home.

Ergonomics

  • If possible, have a place at home that is the 'workplace'.
  • Look at the workplace from the outside, for example lighting, chair, table and working position.
  • On Avonova's website, you can find useful tips and advice on ergonomics when working at home (in Swedish).
  • Pay attention to early bodily signals to prevent repetitive strain injuries – for example, soreness, tension or stiffness in muscles and ligaments.
  • Vary your working position often and take breaks. On Feelgood's website, you can find some suggestions for break exercise sessions (in Swedish).

Tools for distance working

If you need to work from home, it can be useful to know what tools are available to help you work from distance.

You can access most systems from home without doing anything special, but if you need to access documents in your home directory or shared folder from outside, for example, you'll need to use remote access (VPN). VPN is available to all employees.

Connect to VPN with SU Workstation (Arbetsplatstjänsten) - FortiClient

If your department/equivalent is not connected to the Workplace Service, instructions are available here:

Connect to VPN without SU Workstation (Arbetsplatstjänsten) - Wireguard
More information about remote access (VPN)

Box is a cloud storage and synchronisation service that can be used by all employees. Files stored in the service are accessible on the web, your computers and mobile devices so you always have access to your files wherever you are.

Keep in mind, however, that you should not process sensitive personal data in Box.

More information about Box

The Zoom e-meeting service is a user-friendly tool for organising meetings online, wherever you are. Zoom is available to everyone who has a university account; both staff and students. Using Zoom, you can teach or attend meetings remotely and also chat and share files with colleagues. You can also film lectures.

More information about Zoom

Contact

In the first place, please contact your department.

Last updated: 2024-11-07

Source: Human Resources Office