In a new published LISER policy brief¹ “The impact of telework induced by the spring 2020 lockdown on the use of digital tools and digital skills”, researchers assess whether telework imposed by the lockdown led to an extensive and/or intensive growth in the use of digital tools by teleworkers and whether it enabled them to increase their digital skills.

The spring 2020 lockdown has forced many employees to begin teleworking. With 63% of employed people in Luxembourg reported to be teleworking, for 83% of them, it was a new work organisation. The digitalisation of work imposed by telework has underlined the importance for employees to know how to use digital tools.

During this period, teleworkers used on average of a bit more than 4 types of digital tools out of the 10 types studied². Unsurprisingly, tools aimed at compensating for the lack of face-to-face interactions are those that have seen their share of users increase. For example, tools related to web conferences, instant messaging, and collaborative tools like groupware and workflow. Thus, 88% of teleworkers used videoconferencing tools and 81% used instant messaging tools.

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Nearly two out of five teleworkers have experienced new digital tools during the lockdown
For 43% of teleworkers, the lockdown offered the opportunity to discover new tools. Among teleworkers who experienced new types of tools they had not used before, 50% reported using web conference tools, 40% using workflow-type tools, and 37% using instant messaging.

More intensive use of digital tools for nearly three out of five users
58% of teleworkers who used digital tools in the past used them more frequently during the lockdown. Once again, web conference tools have seen the highest increase in their frequency of use. For artificial intelligent and self-learning technologies tools (artificial intelligence), half of their users reported a reduction in their intensity of use during the lockdown.

Three out of ten teleworkers estimate that their digital skills increased during the lockdown
30% of teleworkers estimate that their digital skills increased during the lockdown, while 68% believe that their skills have not changed and 2% report their skills have decreased. Teleworkers who have experienced new digital tools during lockdown and who have used them intensively are those, all other things being equal, who estimate the most that their digital skills improved during the lockdown.