因新冠肺炎封鎖期間, 歐洲的商業環境經歷了什麼樣的變化?

每當我跟家人還有亞洲的朋友們聊到歐洲的情況的時候、大家都覺得歐洲的封鎖狀況很難理解。我想大家應該都有聽到一些有關歐洲的疫情狀況、不過在工作環境上到底有何不同？你需要考慮什麼？

首先，我們要了解到底封鎖 (Covid-19 Lockdown)的定義是什麼?每個國家的定義有些微不同。而在歐洲大部分的國家就是要求大家一定要待在家裡，除非你需要去超級市場購物、去藥局、一天一次的戶外運動。又或者你本人在超級市場、藥局、交通運輸業、醫院、療養院等工作的員工。有些國家你還需要跟公司申請「工作證書」，證明你可以出門去上班。警察是可以攔下並詢問你出門的目的。

雖然很多國家已經開始解除這些需求、可是商業環境畢竟受到嚴重的影響、而導致重大的轉變。

在封鎖時期很多辦公大樓都關閉，公司也鼓勵員工盡量在家工作。 因此在封鎖初期，很多公司都忙著把ＩＴ設施快速升級，並增加 VPN Access（虛擬私人網路)。

隨著封鎖限制越來越放寬，雖然有一些公司已經要求他們的員工回辦公室，但能回辦公室的人數還是有限量的，而且員工每天都要登記出勤。Google 和Facebook已經公布他們的員工到今年年底以前都不需要回辦公室工作。一般員工則是預期雇主會讓他們可選擇在家或是去辦公室工作。這意味著實際面對面開會還是會很困難。

到現在為止，為了保持社交安全距離，面對面開會是禁止的。雖然有一些公司已經慢慢地開放公司內部開會，但是對外開會還是嚴格禁止的。很多人到現在仍然沒有辦法出差或者是去看客戶。

因此導致網路會議跟網路社交活動大量的增長。大家利用了各式各樣的網路平台溝通。最近連瑜伽、音樂、舞蹈教學都網路化。目前"如何與他人在網路互動"變得非常的重要。

帶薪強制休假計畫 (Furlough Scheme) 指的是員工被強制休假但保留職位。在歐洲，許多國家政府提供經濟補助給企業，以便公司在疫情緩和之前不要解雇員工。在英國，政府補助80% 的公資，估計大約有940萬人強制休假；在德國(Kurzarbeit),政府會補助60% 的公資，估計約有1000萬人強制休假；在法國(Chomage Partial)，政府會補助80% 的公資，估計大約有1220萬人正強制休假。

各式各樣的產業無論從小公司到大型企業都有申請這個補助計畫。不過有一些產業畢竟受的影響比較大。大多數的國家補助此計劃到九月底，這也意味著許多人在四到六個月內會沒工作或者是減少工作時間。另外雖然各國的政府非常的努力把病情給壓下來、可是大家心裡都知道、實際情況並沒有那麼樂觀。很多公司必須重新審核他的運作還有人力資源。這也代表、一旦政府補助沒了、失業率有可能會增加。這段期間你跟這些國家的公司聯繫窗口打交道的話記得要有耐心，並留意他們目前的工作狀況。

很多國家為了防疫關閉了他們的邊界。而有一些國家如義大利還獨立關閉不同的地區。在英國（英國其實是有分成四個省：英國、北愛爾蘭、蘇格蘭、還有威爾斯）不同的省也有他們自己的條款跟規則。所以一定要注意每一個省的運作方式。

最近國家之間的邊界也開始慢慢開放，例如德國、法國、還有荷蘭都可以互相通行。不過每一個國家還是有他們自己的規定，尤其是哪種情況需要隔離14天。例如：英國人可以來往法國不需要14天隔離，可是如果英國人去荷蘭就需要14天隔離，回程則不需要在英國隔離。這些規定非常的複雜而且變更很快，所以一定要定期檢查你要去的國家跟區域的狀況。

很多國際公司常常運用大型展覽跟會議來宣傳自己的產品、做市場調查還有建立人脈。可惜的是，大部分的活動因為國家邊界關閉還有政府規定已延期到11月或2021年才會恢復正常。目前很多都轉變成網路交流模式。

其實以一個國外的公司來講並不是一件壞事，因為現在並非需要親自飛去就可以透過網路來建立人脈跟通訊交流。所以建議大家如果有喜歡國際展覽會或公司記得常常上網查詢訊息。

上面提到的只是一些商業環境的主要變化。目前的情況很複雜、因為每個國家還有公司都有自己的規定，而這些規定會頻繁而且快速改變。因此在做決定之前必須根據你的業務和需求來判斷。 唯一可以確認的就是網路平台使用率會變得越來越普遍、所以建議大家利用。

English Version

When I spoke to my friends and family in Asia, for many it was quiet hard to really comprehend the lockdown situation. Most people have heard about the changes, but how is it different to Asia? What should you consider when doing business?

For a start, it is important to understand what is meant by ‘Covid-19 lockdown’. In each country, the definition is slightly different. In Europe, for most countries, it means that people have to stay at home unless they are going out to buy grocery, to exercise once a day or they are a key worker (Key workers are primarily supermarket, pharmacy, transportation, hospital and care workers). In some countries, you will need a ‘certification’ to prove that you are allowed to go to work. Police are allowed to stop you and question your purpose.

Even with the lockdown easing in many countries, due to the heavy impacts from the lockdown, it still caused major changes in the business environment.

During the lockdown period, offices had to be closed and people were asked by the companies to ‘work from home’ as much as possible. Many companies had to accelerate their IT migration and the number of Virtual Private Network (VPN) access to cater for this surge in demand.

With the lockdown easing, although some companies are asking employees to return, they are still restricting the capacity in the office and employees are required to register their attendance daily. Companies like Google and Facebook have already told their staff that they don’t need to go to the office until the end of the year.[1]. In general, people are expecting their employers to give them a choice to work remotely or not. This means, physical meetings are much harder to achieve than before.

Face-to-face meetings are still prohibited due to social distancing. Although some companies are slowly allowing face-to-face meetings internally, external meetings and hosting external people are still very restricted. Even business trips are still banned for many people.

There has been a massive growth in the number of virtual meetings and virtual events using all the platforms you can imagine. Even Yoga, Music and dance classes are now conducted online. It is all about how to engage with people virtually. Be prepared for the virtual world.

Furlough Scheme is when the person forced to takes a leave of absence but still remains employed by the company. Many governments around Europe are offering financial support to companies to help retain employees rather than laying them off until things are ‘back to normal’. Each country has its own rules and regulations. For example, in the UK, the government is paying 80% of the salary. It is estimated around 9.4 Million people are on furlough[2]; In Germany (Kurzarbeit), pays roughly 60% of salary and there are about 10Million workers on the scheme[3]; In France (Chomage Partial) the government pays 80% of the salary, with an estimate of 12.2Million works on the scheme[4].

This furlough scheme has been used by small to large enterprises in all industries and sectors, although some sectors are more affected than others. For most countries, the scheme will end around September, it means many people are either working part-time or have not worked for 4-6months. Moreover, it is clear that the economy will not return to ‘normal’ for a while, therefore companies will have to make adjustments to their operations, resources and cash flow. For many people, they are doubtful about their job security at the end of the furlough scheme. Be patient and mindful of the companies and people that you are dealing with.

Many countries have shut their borders to other countries. In some countries, e.g. Italy, the shutdown could be regional. While in UK, each country (Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales) have their own individual rules and regulations. It is important to watch out how each country operates. In recent time, although borders between some countries are open such as Germany, France and Netherlands, however, each individual country has its own set of rules about who will need or not need a 14-day quarantine. For Example, people in England can visit France without quarantine (to and from) but the English must isolate 14 days if they were to go to The Netherlands (only to, not from Netherlands). The rules are complicated and change can happen really quickly. It’s important to check regularly and make sure you check country by country and region by region.

Many international companies go to these large events to promote themselves and to network. Unfortunately, most events are not expected to be back on track until 2021. This is due to regulation and border restrictions. Virtual networks and webinars are now the new norm to replace the physical events. This may be a good news for an overseas company as all the networking and sales activities can now be achieved directly online omitting the need to travel overseas. Should you be interested in any companies or international expos, it is recommended to check regularly for online events and information updates.

The points above are just some of the major changes in the business environment. The situation is complicated as each country and individual company has its own rules and regulations. These rules can change rapidly and quickly, therefore care must be taken depending on the needs of your business. The only thing we know for certain is the virtual meetings and webinars are here to stay. Do take advantage of it.

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52570714