As France debates the “end of the golden age of remote work”, both workers and employers face growing confusion: are today’s working from home practices really compatible with emerging work habits in in the public and private employment sectors — and more importantly, with the law?

New research suggests that legal uncertainty does not empower HR managers to innovate. Instead, it pushes them to take on extra responsibilities that weren’t in their job description.

Could unclear regulations be the “silent killer” of innovation in remote-work strategies? Recent research carried out in Kazakhstan’s technical-gas industry during the healthcare crisis offers an unexpected insight from Central Asia that might shed light on the situation in France. Although far removed from the French context, the case study offers some universal common ground: when regulations lag behind reality, remote-work policies become fragile, inconsistent, and difficult to innovate.

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