Spatial Regulation Instruments of Work at Home: The Case of Slovenia as a Post-Transition Country

Abstract

Work at home and work from home are becoming the subject of interdisciplinary research in the current social conditions. Slovenia, as a post-transition country, has specific experience in terms of its regulation, as the former socialist and later transition period were relatively tolerant of various forms of work at home. The article presents the results of research aimed at studying current normative provisions for the organization of work at home, its actual spatial and program scope, and its correlation with building typology and morphology. Using a descriptive research method and by analyzing existing databases in the GIS environment, we found that work at home is a very extensive phenomenon in Slovenia. Despite the effective instruments in the fields of spatial planning, public administration, tax system, and employment legal relationships, its scope is mainly a consequence of historical tolerance, as this form of work has been legally organized and desirable for decades. We found that various urban characteristics did not significantly affect its occurrence in the past. The differences are reflected only in the extent of business activities that can be carried out in residential areas and differ according to the distance from urban centers. In order for the regulation of work at home to become even more efficient in the future, it is necessary to define more detailed criteria, especially in terms of its program regulation and monitoring of the spatial situation.