The impact of Covid-19 on employee mobility in mauritius: the scope for hybrid/remote work through technological innovation

There is now trite consensus that the Covid-19 pandemic has shook the world in all imaginable areas of life. The pandemic has transformed the way that we individuals function in society and has challenged us to look at the way we interact, consume, work and travel differently. At the height of the pandemic, one of the most pressing challenges faced by employers and employees around the globe, was the ability to continue to keep offices and businesses functioning, as the Covid-19 virus forced us to stay at home during strict lockdowns. A major breakthrough was hailed as both employers and employees navigated the uncertain waters of "work from home", also known as "remote work" or "hybrid work". Even as we settle into the "new normal", most workplaces around the world have maintained some form of remote work, while some have allowed their employees to keep working from home indefinitely (McKinsey, 2021). In 2022, mobility is one of the most important issues for human resources to grapple with. However, with technology, employees are finding that remote work have multiple benefits including the possibility of greater work-life balance and the ability to organize one's work according to one's lifestyle. Despite this, hybrid work do come with its load of limitations, such as an invasion of employees' personal spaces and an increase in financial costs associated with heating and cooling of home workspaces, the costs of desks, chairs and related equipment, etc (Busuttil, 2022). In Mauritius, the government has been at the forefront of enabling employers and employees to roll out remote work during the pandemic. For example, we have two pieces of legislations to that effect namely, the Workers' Rights (Working from Home) Regulations 2020 and the Work From Home Protocol for the Public Service 2021. However, in Mauritius, employers have been less keen to extend remote work beyond the pandemic, due to organization and cultural bias, a lack of strong institutional and legislative framework, as well as distrust towards employees. This paper will critically analyse the current policies, laws and frameworks regarding remote work in place in Mauritius. The author will conduct a quantitative study to assess how private and public institutions across Mauritius have rolled out remote work during and beyond the pandemic. Recommendations will be proposed to empower Mauritian employers and employees to adopt remote work more effectively, especially through technological innovation.