Examples from across Europe - Case studies of municipal teams implementing remote and hybrid work

These examples confirm a pattern already visible in European research. An OECD survey of 174 public sector organisations using the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) found that office-based work dropped sharply during the COVID-19 crisis and that remote and hybrid arrangements remain significantly above pre-crisis levels, especially in local and regional administrations.[1] At the same time, Eurofound’s analysis of 80 hybrid-work cases in 27 countries shows that public organisations are experimenting with different mixes of days in the office, shared workspaces and team-based agreements, rather than a single standard model.[2]

The case studies below illustrate how this experimentation looks in practice. They combine national-level reforms that directly affect municipal staff (for example, Croatia’s SmartWorking model) with city-level initiatives (such as Vienna or Madrid) that used hybrid and remote work to stay resilient during crisis and to modernise internal practices. Throughout the article, we highlight how these experiences resonate with the challenges and ambitions of the Remote-IT network cities, which are currently developing their own hybrid work strategies for municipal teams.

Belgium: satellite offices and “New Ways of Working”

Belgium offers a clear example of how a national framework can support flexible work while giving individual organisations and teams room to adapt. The Belgian federal government regulates telework and “satellite work” through a Royal Decree that sets core principles - equal rights and obligations for teleworkers, requirements for health, safety and data protection, and the employer’s responsibility to inspect and support off-site workplaces. Within this framework, organisations design their own procedures.

A particularly relevant practice for cities is Belgium’s nationwide network of satellite offices, which are available to federal civil servants who cannot work effectively from home. These offices function as mini-hubs: they provide quality workstations, connectivity and secure access to central systems, while reducing commuting time and pressure on central office space. For municipal teams in polycentric regions or large metropolitan areas, the satellite-office concept can be a powerful tool to support hybrid work without reinforcing home–office inequalities (for example, between staff who have adequate home space and those who do not).

Belgium has also invested in adapting physical office space. The Belgian Buildings Agency has promoted the Dynamic Office Model as part of the broader New Ways of Working (NWOW) agenda. Offices are designed for activity-based work, with zones for teamwork, quiet concentration, online meetings and informal interaction, and a clean-desk policy backed by lockers for personal belongings.

This layout reflects a shift in how the office is understood: less as a default place for individual desk work and more as a collaborative hub, which aligns closely with findings from wider European research on hybrid work.

Key takeaways for cities

• Satellite offices can reduce commuting, support staff who lack suitable home workspaces, and make hybrid work more inclusive.
• National rules that guarantee equal treatment, health and safety and data protection create confidence for managers and staff to use telework extensively.
• Activity-based “dynamic offices” help municipal teams use limited space more efficiently while reinforcing collaboration on in-office days.

Croatia: designing a national hybrid model for public administration[3]

The model was developed after extensive research into remote and hybrid work in Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia and Spain, as well as an internal assessment of which tasks in Croatian public administration could realistically be performed remotely. The indicated that a substantial share of public-sector roles, particularly in administration, policy, planning and support functions, can be performed remotely for a significant portion of working time, provided appropriate digital systems and organisational frameworks are in place.

In Croatia, evaluations conducted during the pandemic showed strong acceptance of remote and hybrid work in the public sector. According to national assessments, around three-quarters of surveyed officials reported that their productivity when working from home was equal to or higher than in the office, while a clear majority expressed a preference for hybrid arrangements combining remote and in-person work.

Time savings were a major driver. By introducing regular hybrid work, annual time savings for an individual employee could reach the full equivalent of one month of working hours -time that could be reallocated to professional tasks, learning, or personal/family obligations.

In Croatia, the SmartWorking model provides two distinct arrangements:

1. An occasional hybrid model, structured around a 1+2+2 weekly pattern: one fully on-site day with the entire team, two days of flexible on-site presence, and two days of remote work.
2. A temporary remote-work arrangement, under which a civil servant may be authorised to work from home or another remote location for a defined period of up to 12 months, for example in cases related to caregiving responsibilities. 

Both options are supported by clear eligibility criteria, a formal application procedure, performance-monitoring rules, and explicit requirements regarding digital tools, data security and ergonomic working conditions.

For municipal administrations in Remote-IT cities, the Croatian case offers a ready-made reference: it demonstrates that a mid-sized EU member state can move from ad-hoc pandemic telework to a formal, legally grounded hybrid system in a relatively short period. 

It also explicitly connects hybrid work to broader public-sector modernisation and digitalisation goals, which many cities are pursuing under the EU’s Digital Decade and green-transition agendas.

Key takeaways for cities

• Use pilot experience and staff surveys to build an evidence-based case for hybrid work, focusing on productivity and time savings.
• Define a simple, recognisable scheduling pattern (such as 1+2+2) that teams can adapt but that still gives clarity to managers, HR and service users.
• Treat hybrid work as part of a wider digital-transformation and modernisation strategy, not as a stand-alone HR perk.

Trentino: embedding telework in public administration within a territorial development strategy[4]

Photo by Salvatore Sammarco

The Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino) provides an example of how teleworking in public administration can be positioned not only as an internal organisational measure, but as part of a broader territorial development strategy. Rather than treating remote and hybrid work solely as an HR policy, Trentino has approached teleworking as a lever for improving public-sector performance while contributing to wider objectives related to mobility, sustainability and quality of life.

At the territorial level, Trentino examined the distribution of teleworkable jobs across sectors alongside digital infrastructure conditions, travel times and labour-market accessibility. This made it possible to identify where teleworking could generate the greatest public value, particularly in terms of reducing commuting-related congestion and emissions, while improving everyday living conditions for workers. Teleworking was understood from the outset as a systemic change that produces both benefits and challenges for employees, organisations and places, requiring coordinated action rather than isolated measures.

A central element of Trentino’s approach has been its role as an employer. The provincial administration began experimenting with teleworking arrangements for public employees prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, using pilot initiatives to test workflows, digital tools and management practices. These pilots went beyond minimum national requirements and focused on redefining how work is organised and assessed. When the pandemic required a rapid and large-scale shift to remote work, the administration was therefore better positioned to respond, building on existing experience and organisational learning.

Over time, Trentino’s experience also revealed that the main constraints on teleworking uptake were not technical, but organisational. Although teleworking potential was high and employee feedback was generally positive, the sustained use of remote and hybrid work remained below its potential once emergency conditions ended. This highlighted the importance of management capacity, leadership skills and performance frameworks that support objective-based work, rather than reliance on presence-based supervision. In this sense, teleworking functioned as a catalyst for broader governance reform within the public administration.

At the same time, Trentino’s case illustrates the limits and risks associated with teleworking. Not all public-sector roles are equally suited to remote work, and without careful design, hybrid arrangements can deepen inequalities between job profiles, reinforce digital divides and create risks related to isolation, overwork and reduced informal learning. Addressing these issues required explicit safeguards and an acknowledgement that teleworking must be adapted to diverse functions within the administration.

Beyond the organisation itself, Trentino linked internal teleworking reforms with external investments in broadband infrastructure, digital skills development and local coworking and decentralised workspaces. This helped ensure that the benefits of teleworking extended beyond the administration, supporting territorial cohesion and enabling new patterns of work across the region.

For Remote-IT cities, Trentino’s experience offers a relevant case study of how public administrations can act simultaneously as employers, service providers and territorial actors. It demonstrates the value of aligning internal hybrid-work reforms with wider strategies on remote work, digital nomads and sustainable mobility, while remaining attentive to organisational capacity and social equity.

Key takeaways for cities

• Teleworking can be most effective when treated as part of a broader territorial strategy, not only as an internal HR policy.
• Piloting teleworking arrangements within public administration allows management practices, performance frameworks and digital tools to be tested before scaling up.
• Organisational and managerial capacity is a critical enabler of sustained remote and hybrid work, often more decisive than technology alone.
• Linking internal teleworking reforms to investments in broadband, digital skills and coworking spaces helps extend benefits beyond the administration.
• Hybrid work models require safeguards to address inclusion, well-being and fairness  across different public-sector roles.

Estonia: enabling remote and hybrid work through digital-by-default public administration[5]

e-Estonia Showroom in Tallinn. Source: Brand Estonia

Estonia offers a well-established example of how remote and hybrid work in public administration can be enabled through long-term investment in digital governance, organisational readiness and trust-based management. Rather than introducing teleworking as a standalone reform, Estonia embedded remote work within a broader digital-by-default approach to public administration that predates the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the core of Estonia’s model is a highly interoperable digital state infrastructure, which allows public services and internal administrative processes to function securely and efficiently regardless of location. Digital identity, secure data exchange systems and widespread use of electronic workflows have reduced reliance on physical presence in offices, making remote and hybrid work operationally feasible across much of the public sector. This digital foundation meant that remote work could be adopted quickly when needed, without disrupting service continuity.

From an organisational perspective, Estonian public administration has long relied on relatively flat hierarchies, high levels of institutional trust and outcome-oriented management practices. These characteristics proved critical when large numbers of civil servants shifted to remote work. Rather than focusing on monitoring working time or presence, managers were able to rely on clearly defined tasks, responsibilities and performance expectations. In this context, remote and hybrid work reinforced existing management cultures rather than requiring a complete organisational reset.

The transition during the pandemic also revealed that technological readiness alone is not sufficient. Differences emerged across institutions and roles, particularly where functions required in-person interaction or where digital skills were uneven. Estonia responded by reinforcing guidance for managers, investing further in digital skills development and clarifying expectations around availability, well-being and work-life boundaries for public employees. Remote work was framed not as an entitlement, but as a mode of working that must support both service quality and employee well-being.

Importantly for cities, Estonia’s approach illustrates how remote work in public administration interacts with broader territorial and mobility patterns. While the country has promoted location-independent work and digital nomadism through national initiatives, public-sector remote work has primarily supported internal flexibility, regional balance and resilience, rather than large-scale relocation of civil servants. This cautious approach helped avoid sudden spatial imbalances while still reducing commuting pressures and improving flexibility for employees.

Estonia’s experience also highlights the importance of safeguards. Remote and hybrid work models were accompanied by explicit attention to cyber security, data protection and occupational health, as well as efforts to prevent isolation and unequal access to informal learning opportunities. These considerations have become part of ongoing discussions about how hybrid work should be institutionalised in the public sector over the longer term.

For Remote-IT cities, Estonia demonstrates how sustained investment in digital governance can enable remote and hybrid work as a normal mode of public administration, rather than an exceptional response to crisis. The case shows that when digital systems, management culture and institutional trust are aligned, remote work can strengthen both administrative resilience and service delivery.

Key takeaways for cities

• Remote and hybrid work in public administration is most sustainable when built on a strong digital governance backbone, not introduced as an isolated HR reform.
• Outcome-oriented management and institutional trust are critical enablers of remote work, often more important than formal rules alone.
• Digital readiness must be complemented by continuous investment in managerial capacity and staff digital skills.
• Hybrid work models should be designed to support service continuity and regional balance, rather than encouraging unmanaged relocation.
• Cyber security, data protection and employee well-being need to be integral parts of remote work frameworks in the public sector.

Across these cases, a shared lesson emerges: successful hybrid and remote work in public administration depends less on adopting a single model and more on aligning legal frameworks, management practices, workplace design and territorial context.