The expert spoke about the right of Russians to refuse snow removal on a clean-up day

In Russia, the practice of organizing winter clean-up days is becoming widespread, in which employees remove snow around offices. At the same time, participation in such events is voluntary, and participation in the action can be waived by law, said Ekaterina Sitko, a leading expert at Aktion Occupational Safety and Health, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru».

"The effect as a team building tool is possible only under three conditions: volunteerism, working hours and a clear goal with a visible result — then the practice is perceived positively. If this is a "commitment" without compensation, the effect is reversed — a drop in engagement and a sense of waste of time," she said.

At the moment, the majority of Russian companies (77.1%) hold clean-up days. However, in 46% of cases, participation in such events is actually mandatory. In 23.1% of organizations, the actions are presented as voluntary, but employees are afraid to refuse to participate, fearing a negative reaction from management. In almost every fourth company (22.1%), a clean-up day caused conflicts.

During cleaning, an employee may get hurt or injured. However, the vast majority of clean-up days (95.8%) went without such incidents.

Earlier, on April 11, Anton Orlov, director of the Institute for the Study of Modern Politics (IIPSP), appealed to Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, with a request to assess the possibility of prohibiting employers from conducting clean-up days with the mandatory participation of employees. He noted that companies and various enterprises often involve employees in activities aimed at engaging in socially useful work (garbage collection, landscaping).

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