Work & life stress experienced by professional workers during the pandemic: a gender-based analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted work and home life exacerbating pre-existing stressors and introducing new ones. These impacts were notably gendered. In this paper, we explore the different work and home life related stressors of professional workers specifically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic through the gender-based analysis of two pan Canadian surveys: The Canadian Community Health Survey (2019, 2020, 2021) and the Healthy Professional Worker Survey (2021). Analyses revealed high rates of work stress among professional workers compared to other workers and this was particularly notable for women. Work overload emerged as the most frequently selected source of work stress, followed by digital stress, poor work relations, and uncertainty. Similar trends were noted in life stress among professional workers, particularly women. Time pressure consistently stood out as the primary source of non-work stress, caring for children and physical and mental health conditions. These findings can help to develop more targeted and appropriate workplace mental health promotion initiatives that are applicable to professional workers taking gender more fully into consideration.

Can COVID-19 mark a tipping point for home-based telework? Conflict between untact technology and rigid institutions in Korea

Background

Previously, Korea showed a passive attitude toward home-based telework; however, this stance rapidly changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustaining home-based telework entails adjusting productivity conditions, introducing performance-based evaluations, and modifying employment rules, as required by the Korean Labor Standards Act, which demand the consent of most workers. This study aims to explore the societal and institutional shifts necessary for ongoing home-based telework post-pandemic.

Methods

This study discusses the sustainability of home-based work based on survey data and materials from institutions and previous research. It used data from the Workplace Panel Survey provided by the Korea Labor Institution for 3 years (2015, 2017, and 2019) to examine the status of home-based work and business responses. It also addresses legal issues related to changes in working conditions and worker-management agreements resulting from telework implementation. Legal aspects of telework are explained using relevant sections of Korea's labor laws.

Results

To establish home-based telework as a working method relevant to the Fourth Industrial Revolution after the pandemic, essential discussions are needed regarding its fundamental applicability to specific job sectors. Moreover, to activate home-based telework without deteriorating working conditions, achieving agreement between workers and management is imperative. However, legal complexities necessitate systemic changes for effective resolution. For the sustainable continuity of telework, a blend of societal awareness and institutional transformations is indispensable.

Discussion

The growth of home-based telework through untact technology expansion is hindered by inflexible Korean labor laws, judicial precedents, and worker-management relations. The absence of necessary legal and organizational changes could lead Korea to revert to pre-pandemic norms or slow implementation. Initially prevalent in IT, home-based telework has expanded across sectors due to the pandemic. Leading the "new normal," companies creatively enhance productivity through telework, but rigid systems and outdated cultures could impede post-pandemic progress.

Conclusion

The study highlights the need for forward-looking institutional changes and adaptation to advancing technology. It provides valuable insights for organizations and policymakers to optimize work dynamics and enhance employee and employer well-being in the post-COVID-19 era.

Analysis of the relationship between urban dynamics and prevalence of remote work based on population data generated from cellular networks

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the introduction of remote work as one way to ensure employee safety and reduce the amount of interpersonal contact while continuing business operations. Knowing the degree of prevalence of remote work and its establishment are considered to be important factors in future policies and urban planning. We applied non-negative matrix factorization to population-change data obtained from a mobile phone network to extract the component of working people, and analyzed the changes pre- and post-pandemic. Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, we confirmed that the number of people working in office and residential districts has significantly changed at a significance level of 1% in urban areas centered around Tokyo and Osaka, the two largest cities in Japan. Time-series data show that the number of workers is decreasing in office districts and increasing in residential districts, suggesting increased prevalence of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that it has become established. In addition, in urban areas centered around Tokyo, we confirmed that there is a moderate correlation between the changes in the number of people working in office districts and the capital size of corporations in the same area.

At your service: supportiveness of servant leadership, communication frequency and communication channel fostering job satisfaction across generations

Introduction

The present study contributes to the conversations on the role of 'autonomy supportive' factors in employee wellbeing in remote work contexts by examining the relationships between servant leadership, communication frequency - overall and via synchronous (i.e., individual video-calls, individual telephone calls) and asynchronous communication channels (i.e., e-mail messages, and WhatsApp) - on the one hand, and job satisfaction, on the other, and the moderating role of generation (Baby Boomers and Gen X versus Gen Y) in these relationships.

Method

Building on self-determination theory, incorporating insights from servant leadership, telework, and media richness and synchronicity literatures, we developed hypotheses that were tested via multilevel analysis (273 employees nested in 89 managers).

Results

In line with expectations, servant leadership had a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Total communication frequency, however, was not related to job satisfaction. Further analyses per communication channel showed that only level 2 e-mail communication frequency was positively related to job satisfaction. In contrast to expectations, the relationships studied were not moderated by generation.

Discussion

We concluded that, for all generations, both servant leadership and frequent (e-mail) communication can be regarded as 'autonomy supportive' factors in employee wellbeing. Paradoxically, whereas servant leadership, considered as a human-centric leadership style, suggests close trust-based employment relationships, employees valued frequent asynchronous communication (via e-mail). Having access to information and knowledge when needed may satisfy employees' need for autonomy (and perhaps for flexibility to engage in work and non-work activities). The insights gained in our study can inform organizations, managers, and employees, particularly in future remote work contexts.

Is Smart Working Beneficial for Workers' Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working, Workload, and Hair Cortisol/Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Building on the job demands-resources (JD-R) and allostatic load (AL) models, in the present study we examined the role of smart working (SW) in the longitudinal association between workload/job autonomy (JA) and a possible biomarker of work-related stress (WRS) in the hair-namely, the cortisol-dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA(S)) ratio-during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 124 workers completed a self-report questionnaire (i.e., psychological data) at Time 1 (T1) and provided a strand of hair (i.e., biological data) three months later (Time 2, T2). Results from moderated multiple regression analysis showed that SW at T1 was negatively associated with the hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio at T2. Additionally, the interaction between workload and SW was significant, with workload at T1 being positively associated with the hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio at T2 among smart workers. Overall, this study indicates that SW is a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative consequences on employee wellbeing. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio is a promising biomarker of WRS. Practical implications that organizations and practitioners can adopt to prevent WRS and promote organizational wellbeing are discussed.

The double-edged sword effect of telecommuting on employees' work engagement: evidence from China during COVID-19

Purpose

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study aims to explore how telecommuting affects employee' work engagement, and consider how perceived supervisor support moderates this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

A time-lagged study was conducted on 286 employees from four enterprises in southern China.

Findings

The results showed that telecommuting both decreased work engagement by triggering work-family conflict and enhanced work engagement by increasing job autonomy. In addition, perceived supervisor support enhanced the positive direct effect of telecommuting on job autonomy and the indirect effect on employee' work engagement, while perceived supervisor support weakened the negative direct effect of telecommuting on work-family conflict and the indirect effect on employee' work engagement.

Originality/value

This study enrich the literature on telecommuting and employee engagement, and emphasize the importance of perceived supervisor support in this context. Additionally, this study provides some practical implications for companies to adapt and manage telecommuting.

How new ways of working during COVID-19 affect employee well-being via technostress, need for recovery, and work engagement

COVID-19 led to a surge in employees experiencing New Ways of Working (NWW), as many had to work from home supported by ICT. This paper studies how experiencing NWW during COVID-19 affected job-related affective well-being (JAWS) for a sample of employees of the Dutch working population. Hypotheses are tested using Preacher and Hayes' (Behav Res Methods 40 (3):879-891, 2008) bootstrap method, including technostress, need for recovery and work engagement as serial mediators. The results show that higher levels of NWW relate to higher JAWS, to more feelings of positive well-being (PAWS), and less feelings of negative well-being (NAWS). Much of these relations is indirect, via reduced technostress and need for recovery, and increased work engagement. Distinguishing the separate facets of NWW and their relations to PAWS/NAWS, the results show that NWW facets management of output, access to colleagues and access to information directly relate to less negative well-being. However, as the NWW facet time- and location-independent work negatively relates to feelings of positive well-being, NWW as a bundle of facets is not a set-and-forget strategy. Therefore, this study recommends that NWW be supplemented with regular monitoring of employees' well-being, technostress, need for recovery and work engagement.

How remote working increases the importance of positive leadership for employee vigor

Introduction

Leadership is essential for creating a healthy and happy work environment for employees. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely from home has become prevalent for many employees, which challenges leaders to reach out to their followers even if these followers are not physically at work. Drawing on positive psychology theories, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between positive leadership and psychological energy (i.e., vigor), and particularly the extent in which this relationship is affected by whether employees are working from home, as well as the tenure of the leader-follower relationship.

Methods

A two-wave time-lagged study design is used with a sample of 186 followers.

Results

Findings indicate that the effect of positive leadership on followers' vigor is especially strong when employees work from home, and even more so when leaders and followers have a long lasting work relationship.

Discussion

The study shows that positive leadership behaviors are positively related to employee vigor. Such positive leadership behaviors consist of praising follower's individual performance, personally thanking followers, cheering them up, and helping them with specified tasks.

Knowledge-related tensions in remote work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

This study aims to identify knowledge-related tensions in remote work in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic and increase understanding of how such tensions can be managed.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted as an inductive, qualitative study in the field of higher education in Finland. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews of 34 managers in two higher education institutions and analyzed using an inductive and interpretive analysis method.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that the knowledge-related challenges and opportunities during the remote work period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finnish higher education institutions can be conceptualized as tensions involved in knowledge codification, knowledge silos and creating new knowledge. The study contributes to research by presenting a framework for managing knowledge-related tensions in remote work arrangements to benefit remote and hybrid work in knowledge-intensive organizations.

Practical implications

This paper increases the understanding of the tensions in remote work arrangements; the results can help managers understand the challenges and opportunities of remote knowledge work concerning their organization and thereby assist them in management and decision-making in complex operational environments.

Originality/value

This study adopted the little-used perspective of tensions to examine knowledge management issues. By examining the various affordances that remote work may allow for knowledge-intensive work and higher education institutions, the study contributes to a deepened understanding of knowledge work in remote contexts, the related tensions and their management.

An Empirical Study of the Effects of Telework During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan Using Panel Data

This study aims to examine the effects of telework on some kinds of satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The hypotheses are: (1) the positive relationship between job/life satisfaction and telework exists, (2) the optimum frequency of telework exists, (3) the effects of telework are different among regular and non-regular employees, and (4) telework can increase the satisfaction of childcare, but its effects are different among male and female employees. One of the most comprehensive panel data, including the frequency of telework and some kinds of satisfaction, is used. The method of statistical analysis is a random-effects ordered probit regression model, because the variables of telework are possibly endogenous. One of the contributions of this study is to consider telework as endogenous. The main results of statistical analysis indicated: (1) a positive relationship between job satisfaction and the frequency of telework was observed as well as life satisfaction, (2) the effect of telework on the job and life satisfaction was the largest in the case that its frequency was less than 50%, (3) the job and life satisfactions of regular employees were affected by the frequency of telework in all case, and for non-regular employees, its effects were observed in the lower frequency cases of less than 50% and irregular, and (4) the increase of the childcare satisfaction by telework was observed in male employees rather than in female employees.

A systematic review of the research on telework and organizational economic performance indicators

Introduction

A systematic review is conducted in the study to investigate the relationship between telework and organizational economic performance indicators such as self-reported employee performance, organizational performance, actual employee turnover rates, or intentions.

Methods

The databases Scopus, Business Source Premier, and Web of Science were used to conduct a literature search. Original articles published from 2000 and up to May 2021 were selected. Studies were screened for inclusion independently by review pairs and data were extracted. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to evaluate the quality of the studies included.

Results

Forty-three studies were included with some addressing multiple outcomes. Self-reported performance was higher for teleworking employees compared to those working in the ordinary workplace. The extent of the change in performance was dependent on individual characteristics and the extent of the teleworking practice in the organization. Telework was also associated with increased organizational performance, particularly in homogenous samples with unique work tasks. When telework is voluntary, it appears that both actual employee turnover rates and intentions to leave the organization are lower.

Discussion

Further research with high-quality prospective designs is necessary to properly understand the contribution of telework to organizational economic performance indicators.

Mamdani Fuzzy-Based Assessment of Telework Capability of Philippine Government Employees

Due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government encouraged enterprises and businesses to utilize flexible work arrangements such as work-from-home (WFH) or telecommuting setup. Nowadays, the key components necessary for a telecommuting include a WiFi-enabled IT equipment, secured work environment, and reliable internet connection, while research shows that type of work and computer literacy are also key factors for telework implementation. Multiple studies in relation to telework have already been conducted but some studies were deemed inconclusive and need further analysis. Therefore, in this study, a Mamdani fuzzy-based model was developed for telework capability assessment for Philippine government employees based on four significant factors namely: internet speed, IT equipment availability, computer literacy, and type of work, which are expressed in linguistic representations. The proposed fuzzy system can provide a feedback telework capability score based on the four input parameters which may also be characterized with the potential telecommuting cost requirement.

Benefits and Risks of Teleworking from Home: The Teleworkers’ Point of View

Using a qualitative research-based approach, this study aimed to understand (i) the way home-based teleworkers in France perceive and organize their professional activities and workspaces, (ii) their teleworking conditions, (iii) the way they characterize the modalities and the nature of their interactions with their professional circle, and more broadly (iv) their quality of life ‘at work’. We performed a lexical and morphosyntactic analysis of interviews conducted with 28 teleworkers (working part-time or full-time from home) before the COVID-19 crisis and the associated establishment of emergency telework. Our results confirm and complement findings in the literature. Participant discourses underlined the beneficial effects of teleworking in terms of professional autonomy, flexibility, concentration, efficiency, performance, productivity, and being able to balance their professional and private lives. Nevertheless, they also highlighted the deleterious effects of teleworking on temporal workload, setting boundaries for work, work-based relationships and socio-professional integration. Despite the study limitations, our findings highlight the need for specific research-based and practical strategies to support the implementation of a sustainable telework organization in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

The Value of Netnography for Research in HRD

This paper argues for recognition of Netnography as a necessary methodological innovation for HRD research, enabling the field to address emerging research questions and contribute to theory building at the intersection of technology, work and social life. The paper defines ‘netnography’ and introduces its key methodological underpinnings; illustrates its application and procedures; and considers its benefit to HRD research. We identify three opportunities where Netnography can deliver important advances to HRD theory and practice: investigating hard-to-access online work contexts, such as gig work and other forms of precarious working; exploring marginalised, ‘hidden’, or under-researched voices in online spaces; and extending knowledge of learning in hybrid work environments where physical and digital dimensions are intertwined. We conclude with a call to action by HRD scholars to take forward, and further develop, the Netnographic methodology to contribute to new and inclusive theorizing as a basis for advancements in HRD scholarship and practice.

Working in the digital economy: A systematic review of the impact of work from home arrangements on personal and organizational performance and productivity

Work-from-home has become an increasingly adopted practice globally. Given the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, such arrangements have risen substantially in a short timeframe. Work-from-home has been associated with several physical and mental health outcomes. This relationship has been supported by previous research; however, these health and safety issues often receive little resources and attention from business perspectives compared to organizational and worker performance and productivity. Therefore, aligning work-from-home practices with business goals may help catalyze awareness from decision makers and serve to effectively implement work-from-home policies. We conducted a review to synthesize current knowledge on the impact of work-from-home arrangements on personal and organizational performance and productivity. Four large databases including Scopus, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Business Source Complete were systematically searched. Through a two-step screening process, we selected and extracted data from 37 relevant articles. Key search terms surrounded two core concepts: work-from-home and productivity/performance. Of the articles published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 79% (n = 19) demonstrated that work-from-home increased productivity and performance whereas 21% (n = 5) showed mixed or no effects. Of the articles published during the pandemic, 23% (n = 3) showed positive effects, 38% (n = 5) revealed mixed results, and 38% (n = 5) showed negative effects. Findings suggest that non-mandatory work-from-home arrangements can have positive impacts on productivity and performance. When work-from-home becomes mandatory and full-time, or external factors (i.e., COVID-19 pandemic) are at play, the overall impacts are less positive and can be detrimental to productivity and performance. Results will help foster an understanding of the impact of work-from-home on productivity and performance and inform the development of organizational strategies to create an effective, resilient, and inclusive work-from-home workplace by helping to effectively implement work-from-home policies that are aligned with business goals.

Exploring the Impact of COVID‐19 on Employees’ Boundary Management and Work–Life Balance

The COVID‐19 pandemic altered the ways academics work and live by creating a context during the spring of 2020 when working from home was largely mandatory and where, for cohabiting workers, the home as workplace was simultaneously occupied by all household members during working hours (and beyond). Using a multi‐method qualitative approach, we examine how academics experienced working from home during the unprecedented circumstances imposed by the first UK lockdown and social distancing measures. Our findings show that a working arrangement commonly termed ‘flexible’ – working from home – can actually reduce flexibility in a context of mandatory implementation, accompanied by the removal of instrumental and emotional support structures such as childcare and face‐to‐face (physical) social gatherings. Intensified workloads, increased employer monitoring, social disconnection and blurred boundaries between work and personal life collectively generate the reduction of employees’ perceived flexibility‐ability. Experiences may be particularly negative for those with low flexibility‐willingness, whose pre‐pandemic preference was to separate work and home as much as possible. Employee efforts to assert agency in this context include establishing ‘micro‐borders’ and using time‐based strategies to create ‘controlled integration’. We discuss implications for border theory and outline directions for future research.

Explaining individual job performance in work from home (WFH) arrangements

Purpose

This study investigates which factors are conducive to individual job performance in large-scale work from home (WFH) arrangements that rely on the current generation of technology, such as information and communications platforms.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers proposed a research model based on research on WFH arrangements. The model was tested based on a survey of 1,183 respondents who engaged in large-scale WFH arrangements during an extensive national COVID-19 lockdown.

Findings

The proposed research model explains 41% of the variance in individual job performance in WFH arrangements. The findings show that the strongest positive predictors for job performance are home office quality and the reach and communication quality of information and communications platforms. A sense of professional isolation was found to have a negative impact.

Originality/value

This study is based on a unique situation of large-scale mandatory WFH arrangements that are comparable to a natural experiment, and it is one of the first studies to conduct an extensive exploration of WFH that relies on the current generation of digital technology.

Effects of the residential built environment on remote work productivity and satisfaction during COVID-19 lockdowns: An analysis of workers' perceptions

COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to stay home and switch to the remote working mode, which - reportedly - affect job satisfaction and productivity. The present study investigates the relationship between the residential environment and worker's job satisfaction and productivity in the remote working mode during the COVID-19 pandemic. A hypothetical structural equation model (SEM) of the influencing factors is constructed based on a literature review and experts' opinions. A survey-based respondents' opinions (n = 2276) were then used to test and analyze the model. The model results reveal that a residential built environment has an indirect effect on both remote work satisfaction and productivity. However, among all the factors, comfortable space (separate space and ergonomic furniture) is found to be the most important. This study presents the importance of adopting a residential built environment to respond to a crisis like a pandemic in achieving the desired comfort level of remote work. Although this study provides a holistic approach, it also proposes a base for the future country-specific analysis by providing some possible countries' differences.

Impact of COVID-19 awareness and technological anxiety on “mandatory telework”: a Danish case study

Purpose

The uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 has forced employees to use telework technologies and platforms to perform different tasks, that is, “mandatory telework”. COVID-19 is a unique situation that has shocked economies and societies and led to a reshaping of the perception of employees and firms about work practices. However, due to the recent nature of the phenomenon, it is not usually understood how employees would cope with this forced change. Thus, the study aims to explore COVID-19 awareness and employees’ behavior toward mandatory telework.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 201 Danish employees was selected to examine the research questions using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings show that COVID-19 awareness reduces technological anxiety and increases positive attitudes and job satisfaction. The authors have also found the full and partially mediating role of attitude and technological anxiety on the relationship between COVID-19 awareness and job satisfaction.

Originality/value

The study employed the theoretical lens of job demands-resources theory to understand COVID-19 awareness and technological anxiety dynamics on employees’ attitudes toward mandatory telework and job satisfaction during the pandemic.

How Is Telework Experienced in Academia?

An increasing number of academic institutions offer their staff the option to work from other places than the conventional office, i.e., telework. Academic teaching and research staff are recognized as some of the most frequent teleworkers, and this seems to affect their well-being, work performance, and recovery in different ways. This study aimed to investigate academics’ experiences and perceptions of telework within the academic context. For this, we interviewed 26 academics from different Swedish universities. Interviews were analyzed with a phenomenographic approach, which showed that telework was perceived as a natural part of academic work and a necessary resource for coping with, and recovering from, high work demands. Telework was mostly self-regulated but the opportunity could be determined by work tasks, professional culture, and management. Telework could facilitate the individual’s work but could contribute to challenges for the workgroup. Formal regulations of telework were considered a threat to academics’ work autonomy and to their possibility to cope with the high work demands. The findings provide insight into academics’ working conditions during teleworking, which may be important for maintaining a sustainable work environment when academic institutions offer telework options.

Work-From-Home During COVID-19 Lockdown: When Employees' Well-Being and Creativity Depend on Their Psychological Profiles

With the COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented successive lockdowns that forced employees to work from home (WFH) to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This crisis raises the question of the effects of mandatory work from home on employees' well-being and performance, and whether these effects are the same for all employees. In the present study, we examined whether working at home may be related to intensity, familiarity with WFH, employees' well-being (loneliness at work, stress, job satisfaction, and work engagement) and creativity ('subjective' and 'objective'). We also examined whether the psychological profile of employees, combining preference for solitude and associated personality variables from the Big Five, may influence the effects of WFH. The data were collected via an online survey from November 13th to December 15th 2020 among 946 employees from various organizations during the second lockdown in France. In addition to identifying two distinctive psychological profiles for employees having to WFH, results revealed that those with a "Solitary" profile reported higher loneliness at work, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of job satisfaction and work engagement than those with an "Affiliative" profile. It was also found that employees with a "Solitary" profile perceived themselves as less creative and produced objectively fewer ideas than individuals with an "Affiliative" profile. The present study suggests the necessity to distinguish the profiles of teleworkers and to offer a stronger support for the less affiliative employees when working from home.

Telework at times of a pandemic: The role of voluntariness in the perception of disadvantages of telework

The implications of telework are discussed controversially and research on its positive and negative effects has produced contradictory results. We explore voluntariness of employee telework as a boundary condition which may underpin these contradictory findings. Under normal circumstances, individuals who do more telework should perceive fewer disadvantages. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, employees could no longer voluntarily choose to telecommute, as many organizations were forced to introduce telework by governmental regulations. In two studies, we examine whether the voluntary nature of telework moderates the association between the amount of telework and perceptions of disadvantage. In Study 1, we collected data before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 327). Results show that pre-pandemic participants (who were more likely to voluntarily choose this form of work) reported fewer disadvantages the more telework they did, but this was not the case for employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. To validate these findings, we measured employees' voluntariness of telework in Study 2 (N = 220). Results support the importance of voluntariness: Individuals who experience a high degree of voluntariness in choosing telework perceive fewer disadvantages the more they telework. However, the amount of telework was not related to reduced perceptions of disadvantages for those who experienced low voluntariness regarding the telecommuting arrangement. Our findings help to understand when telework is related to the perception of disadvantages and they can provide organizations with starting points for practical interventions to reduce the negative effects of telework.

How to Enhance Smart Work Effectiveness as a Sustainable HRM Practice in the Tourism Industry

With the development of information technologies and increasing interest in sustainability, many companies have adopted smart work as a sustainable human resource practice. Moreover, the outbreak of COVID-19 has further promoted smart work in the workplace. However, the benefits and disadvantages of smart work are still under debate. In this regard, this study attempted to delve into how to enhance smart work implementation by exploring employees’ subjectivity. Hana Tour, which is considered a good model of smart work in South Korea, was selected as a sample company. Q-methodology was employed to listen to employees’ subjective opinions about smart work that they experienced. This study identified five types of smart work perceptions, namely, “self-development and energy saving,” “quality of personal life,” “job satisfaction,” “work engagement,” and “work–life balance”. Based on these five types, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the last chapter. Interestingly, the results showed that employees were not well aware of smart work effectiveness as one of the environmental protection practices in sustainability management paradigms. Another notable result was that employees were not concerned about the potential penalties of their engagement in smart work. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the study’s findings are beneficial to the improvement of smart work implementation as a sustainable HRM practice in business.

Telewerken en thuiswerken: de stand van zaken vóór het uitbreken van COVID-19

Telewerken is het ‘werken op afstand’ van een bedrijfslocatie, kantoor of opdrachtgever, waarbij de telewerker wordt ondersteund door informatie- en communicatietechnologie (ICT). Vaak gebeurt dit vanuit huis: hiervoor wordt zowel de term ‘thuiswerken’ als ‘telethuiswerken’ gebruikt. In dit artikel worden de belangrijkste ontwikkelingen besproken in de periode vanaf ongeveer 1980 - toen telewerken in de praktijk werd geïntroduceerd - tot aan de coronacrisis begin 2020 - toen thuiswerken sterk werd aanbevolen door de overheid. Tele(thuis)werkers blijken een zeer heterogene verzameling te vormen van werknemers en zelfstandigen. Ten eerste zijn er grote onderlinge verschillen in de locaties waar of van waaruit ze werken. Ze werken thuis of op een eigen kantoor, onderweg naar klanten of opdrachtgevers, of in satellietkantoren, telewerkcentra en openbare ruimten. Bovendien is er sprake van variatie in de tijd die ze op de verschillende locaties doorbrengen. Ten derde zit er veel variatie in de aard en intensiteit van het ICT-gebruik. Van drie (hoofd)typen telewerkers worden in dit artikel de kenmerken en voor- en nadelen beschreven: telethuiswerkers, mobiele telewerkers en zelfstandig werkende telewerkers. Dit artikel sluit af met een discussie over de rol van autonomie bij telewerk, de relatie tussen telewerk en werkintensivering en de optimale intensiteit van telewerken.

Telework and Work–Family Conflict during COVID-19 Lockdown in Portugal: The Influence of Job-Related Factors

Even though research has been showing that telework, under regular circumstances, could benefit the integration of work and family life, mandatory telework during the COVID-19 lockdown brought additional challenges, with potential to create conflicts between work and family spheres. Using regression analysis, this study examined the contribution of demographic and job-related variables to the prediction of work–family conflict among a sample of 213 workers who were involved in mandatory telework during the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that role overload, after-hours work-related technology use, and low job autonomy accounted for the prediction of work–family conflict. Support from the supervisors and coworkers did not have an impact in easing the perception of work–family conflict but presented a moderation effect between after-hours work-related technology use and work–family conflict. Implications of the study for management practices related to telework, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Role of Social Media in Social Protest Cycles: A Sociomaterial Examination

Contemporary social media fueled social protest is self-organized, rapidly dynamic, and decentralized, constitutes vast populations, and is shaped by multiple and concurrent channels of information flows. Such protest activity is captured in the concept of social protest cycles, which are short periods of intense and contentious protest activity characterized by temporal dynamics, a large repertoire of protest action, confrontation and potential violence, and possible institutional action. Social protest cycles are the microfoundations of long-term social movements. They contain the seeds of potential societal transformation because their intense collective action can be constructively harnessed toward change. This paper examines the role of social media in social protest cycles. Drawing from the theoretical concept of sociomaterial assemblages, we conceptualize the social media enabled social protest cycle as an assemblage having social (e.g., people, elected leaders, police, judges) and technical (e.g., social media applications, online petition applications) components. We analyze how the social protest cycle transforms through performative intra-actions. The empirical context for the study is a social media enabled social protest cycle that emerged after a fatal rape incident in New Delhi, India. Data pertaining to the social protest cycle over the period December 17–25, 2012, were collected from social media activity on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, online blogs, and newspaper websites. Through mixed methods analysis we identify three intra-actions, consolidation, expansion, and intensification, and theorize how they transform the social protest cycle over time. The paper contributes to the information systems literature that studies social media–enabled social protest action. As theoretical contributions, it develops (1) the notion of intra-actions as organizing mechanisms and (2) a relational ontology for social media–enabled social protest action. Through these contributions, we suggest that the power of social media lies in its socially produced and emergent relationships with other entities in the social protest cycle.

Virtual Collaboration in Academia

More nurses and nurse educators today are working distantly in different geographic locations from others, and this includes working from home or satellite locations (Poulsen & Ipsen, 2017). Can we work collaboratively in a purely distance relationship? In academia, collaboration between colleagues is common and often mandated. Being able to engage with others in a collegial manner is necessary, and in some instances the relationship may be purely virtual. This revolution in cognitive capability uses long-distance interactive technology and the structure of professional learning communities. Successful group collaboration is driven by high expectations, shared goals, professionalism, and peer accountability. Such collaboration may be viewed as involving a nonlinear theory of change, with multiple factors influencing processes and outcomes. Factors impacting success include academic considerations (professional goals, disciplinary expertise), nonacademic issues (personal preferences, financial factors), and the development of a culture of trust and collective leadership. Practical strategies to implement such virtual collaboration are discussed.

Being an accountant, cook, entertainer and teacher-all at the same time: Changes in employees' work and work-related well-being during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

In March 2020, the world was hit by the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic which led to all‐embracing measures to contain its spread. Most employees were forced to work from home and take care of their children because schools and daycares were closed. We present data from a research project in a large multinational organisation in the Netherlands with monthly quantitative measurements from January to May 2020 (N = 253–516), enriched with qualitative data from participants' comments before and after telework had started. Growth curve modelling showed major changes in employees' work‐related well‐being reflected in decreasing work engagement and increasing job satisfaction. For work‐non‐work balance, workload and autonomy, cubic trends over time were found, reflecting initial declines during crisis onset (March/April) and recovery in May. Participants' additional remarks exemplify that employees struggled with fulfilling different roles simultaneously, developing new routines and managing boundaries between life domains. Moderation analyses demonstrated that demographic variables shaped time trends. The diverging trends in well‐being indicators raise intriguing questions and show that close monitoring and fine‐grained analyses are needed to arrive at a better understanding of the impact of the crisis across time and among different groups of employees.

Job Quality and Work-Life Balance of Teleworkers

As telework and mobile work arrangements become more widespread with new advancements in digitalization, these flexible models of work are rapidly expanding to new categories of employees and completely modifying working conditions and job quality. The aim of this study was to assess how particular types of telework affect different dimensions of job quality. We applied multivariable techniques to a sample of 35,765 workers from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey. Our findings show that gender and types of telework by workplace and ICT-use intensity are crucial factors affecting working conditions and job quality. Occasional teleworkers are the group with the best job quality, while highly mobile teleworkers are those with the worst job quality and work-life balance. Home-based teleworkers, especially women, present better results than highly mobile workers in terms of working time quality and intensity, though in exchange for lower skills and discretion, income, and career prospects. This study contributes to deepening our knowledge on the impacts of flexible arrangements of work, providing an analysis of current data on different dimensions of job quality and work-life balance and including gender as a crucial axis of analysis.

The feminist economic geographies of working from home and "digital by default" in Canada before, during, and after COVID-19

This paper builds on insights in feminist economic geography to critically review the literature on work in the home and provide a starting point for examining COVID-19 pandemic-imposed work from home measures for tertiary and quaternary sector firms and organizations. It critically reviews literature on the pandemic, working from home, and work in general, to examine lockdown-related workplace disruptions in relation to the various forms of work that took place in the home prior to the pandemic. It argues that feminist economic geography provides a starting point for examinations of working from home during and after COVID-19. This situates writing on social reproduction, and informal and unpaid work in the home, within the purview of our understanding of pandemic response. Following this review, the paper demonstrates this argument by interrogating Canada's "telework capacity" discourse and the decisions by white-collar offices regarding the continuation and abatement of "digital by default" policies. The pandemic will radically shift our understanding of the meanings of both home and work, and this paper, through a critical review of key literature, suggests that feminist economic geography provides one starting point for theorizing the implications of that shift in the Canadian context.

Who is Teleworking and Where from? Exploring the Main Determinants of Telework in Europe

Telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) arrangements have emerged in response to technological changes driven by digitalisation, increasing flexibility within the labour market, and globalisation. As telework becomes more widespread, these flexible models of work are rapidly expanding to new categories of employees, changing the factors traditionally found to be important for telework eligibility. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of new profiles of teleworkers, examining main factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of different TICTM arrangements. We apply multinomial logistic regression models to a sample of more than 20,000 workers from the 6th European Working Conditions Survey. Our findings confirm the heterogeneity in the profiles of teleworkers, particularly distinguishing by TICTM arrangement. Occasional teleworkers are usually male managers or professionals, but a relevant percentage of highly mobile teleworkers are technicians and associate professionals, while clerical support workers amount to a large group of home-based teleworkers. The majority of occasional and highly mobile teleworkers are still men, but this can no longer be said of home-based teleworkers. The correlations between telework and permanent contracts, full-time jobs, and living in urban areas are weak, showing that TICTM is spreading into more precarious, temporary, and lower-paid jobs, especially among home-based teleworkers and highly mobile teleworkers.

Co-workers working from home and individual and team performance

The number of firms supporting work from home has risen dramatically as advances in communication technology have fundamentally transformed the way humans cooperate. A growing literature addresses working from home, but focuses only on individual workers, overlooking potential influence of co-worker engagement. Our aim is to study the influence of co-workers working from home on individual and team performance. We use unique data from a large-scale survey involving nine European countries, 259 establishments, 869 teams and 11,011 employees to show that the impact of working from home by co-workers on performance is considerable and has remained hidden in past studies because they did not account for co-worker effects. While working from home may be useful for some workers, it does bring issues for them as well. Specifically, we demonstrate that co-workers working from home negatively impact employee performance. Moreover, team performance is worse when more co-workers are working from home.

New Telework, Time Pressure, and Time Use Control in Everyday Life

This study explores how changing conditions for home-based telework affect the quality of life and social sustainability of workers in terms of time pressure and time use control in everyday life. Changing conditions concern the spread of telework to new types of jobs of a more routine character, involving new practices of unregulated work and anytime smartphone access. Empirically, we draw on survey data from a sample of 456 home-based teleworkers employed by six governmental agencies in Sweden. Results indicate that subjective time pressure is not associated with job type in terms of distinguishing between bounded case work and more independent analytical work. Time pressure is intensified by family-related factors, telework performed outside of working hours, and part-time work, and is moderated by the private use of smartphones. We find no significant associations between subjective time use control, job qualifications, and teleworking practice. Family situation and having small children at home reduce time use control. Also, high levels of smartphone use for work-related purposes are associated with reduced control.

Are Managers Making the Right Choice?

Smart work has been credited with providing flexible supply capabilities to meet customer demands in service businesses operations. Effective operations of smart work need huge investment of technologies implementations. The authors use Delphi techniques and survey method to identify implementation factors of importance of home-based work which is a representative type of smart work. Seven technologies were identified to be important (Knowledge Management, Real-time monitoring, Remote IT assist, Online testing, Online training, Workforce management, Agent performance management technologies). Different from general expectations, control-based technologies were found not to have positive effects, but support-based technologies to have positive effects to the performance. Smart work technologies in service business affect employees' job satisfaction, and further retention of remote agents. Careful planning of how to implement technologies for smart work is needed in service business in order to identify the best working environment design.