Loss of organic community and decentralized communications

This chapter explores the barriers and disruption to community and communication resulting from remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Utah's decision to abruptly transition to a fully online model resulted in several communication impacts for staff. First, staff participants received little and inconsistent communication from the University. This caused uncertainty within departments, which trickled down to the students staff serve. Second, this led to staff participants feeling disconnected from the institution and increased their concerns around misinforming students. At the same time, the move to online learning and work decreased efficient communication between colleagues. Casual interactions in the office became email threads and extended feedback processes. Third, staff reported that online communications with students became less personal, which created difficulty for building and maintaining rapport. Finally, staff members' overall sense of community consistently dropped as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on and they were forced to continue to work remotely. The discontent and apprehension felt by staff members around the communication provided from University leadership was compounded by the impact of working from home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Making a story out of a crisis-A response to COVID-19: A dramatic perspective

This chapter shares the author's personal experiences during the early part of the lockdown in the UK in the spring of 2020, with all the uncertainties it created, and considers it from a dramatic storied perspective. It presents the author's perspective of creating a story out of COVID-19. Over the coming weeks in the spring of 2020, as the virus spread in lightning dramatic form, was a series of intertwined stories neither the author nor anyone else had fully processed. They were being encouraged to work from home. As we moved into March the government suggested that we should not have mass meetings, not go to pubs, sporting events or concerts. The notion of working from home and social distancing were being considered. We were all inadvertently being drawn into a classic dramatic story of life and death, without having the distance or space to respond fully to the emotions created. From a dramatherapy perspective, one could argue this is Jung's 'Collective Unconscious' at its most literal and dramatic-an unseen virus spreading throughout the very DNA of all humankind, that was completely unknown to us till a few months earlier, had no antidote and could be deadly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Working from home challenges: Resources, tools, and quality concerns

This chapter provides a glimpse into the conversation around the resources that university staff need to thrive in their work both on campus or through telework. The COVID-19 pandemic and shifting to working from home exposed disparities in resources for staff at the University of Utah many of which existed in the on-campus work environment as well. Institutions of higher education were no exception;most non-essential employees made the change from working on campus to a teleworking environment. Because most colleges and universities still operate from a brick-and-mortar setting and primarily offer in-person instruction, this change to serving students and carrying out job responsibilities from home was a huge and unexpected shift, and very little infrastructure was in place for addressing needs and providing essential tools and resources for employee thriving in a work-at-home environment. It is found that the move to working from home revealed a broad continuum where on one end staff had access to essential resources for thriving as new telecommuters, and on the other end staff struggled from one day to the next to maintain quality services for students and co-workers due to the lack of basic resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perception of Agile Teams About Home Office During the Covid-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a massive migration from working in the office to working from home (WFH) and the software development teams had to adapt to the new reality. This paper focused on how the agile teams dealt with the challenges of WFH and how this affected the software development process. To capture the perceptions of the agile teams, we carried out a survey that investigated the following aspects of WFH: work routine, collaboration, communication, productivity, transparency, challenges, and the software development process itself. The survey received 127 valid responses from agile team members and the results revealed that i) most of the members of agile teams considered the work continued as usual regardless of the place (office or remote);ii) 80% of members of agile teams mentioned an increase in productivity during WFH;iii) 85% of participants are using Scrum as management strategy;iv) communication between teams members during the remote working model was perceived as more effective;v) Microsoft Teams and Google Meets were the most used interactions tools by members of agile teams. Copyright © 2023 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Working from home during COVID-19 Lockdown: Changing Competencies and work-home life Boundaries

Crisis situations often introduces drastic lifestyle changes. This study is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to shed light on an unprecedented context of forcing employees to work from home with a short notice of companies and the government. The goal is three-fold: i) to understand the extent to which employees were indeed prepared to work from home;ii) to uncover the most important competencies that enabled employees to deal better with a crisis situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;and iii) to discuss the real impact that working from home had in the employees' lives during the pandemic situation and the quarantine period. Using narrative inquiry, this study explores the experiences of 18 young adult consultants working in different business areas, in Portugal. Semi-structure interviews were conducting during the third wave (12/2020 - 03/2021) and thematic analysis was used to analysis the transcripts. The analysis revealed three main themes: 'management competencies', 'work-life balance' and 'work flexibility'. Each theme consisted of several subthemes which illustrates how the participants perceived working from home and the factors that reflect their experiences and understanding. The research findings illustrate that interpersonal communication, anxiety and stress management, time management, and e-leadership are vital skills to cause a great impact on participants' productivity and well-being at work. Participants all appeared to notice that working from home provides a better work-life balance (e.g. saving time on daily commute) and more flexibility with regards to the work schedule and home commitments. Nonetheless, their experiences of home working depend on the personal situation, personality and the perceived management support offered during the COVID-19 lockdown. The research highlights a need to train employees on soft skills and prepare them to future crisis situations. Theoretical implications suggest that academics should expand research and interventions to include not only the work environment but also other external factors that affect employees. The limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are suggested. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

Job Satisfaction and Overcoming the Challenges of Teleworking in Times of COVID-19: A Pilot Study Among Iranian University Community.

The coronavirus pandemic changed the academic world in many ways, and most academic institutions continue operating through teleworking. The aim of the present study was to determine how satisfied the university community (faculty/staff members and students) in Iran has been with remote work, and the ways in which they have dealt with the lockdown and working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. A survey was conducted among 196 academics from different universities in Iran. The results show that a majority of our participants (54%) are very or somewhat satisfied with the current work-from-home arrangement. The most frequently used methods for managing the challenges of teleworking were social contacts with colleagues or classmates at a distance, solidarity and offering kindness and support to the people around them. The least used coping method was trusting state or local health authorities in Iran. The coping strategies that have the highest impact on overall teleworking satisfaction are "Make myself busy with my working day because it makes me feel useful,""I care for my mental and physical health," and "Think about what I can do rather than what I can't do." The findings were discussed in detail, taking into consideration the theoretical approaches, as well as bringing forth more dynamic aspects of the culture.

Burnout effect on working mothers in leadership positions during the COVID-19 lockdown

PurposeThis study aims to understand how the recent COVID-19 pandemic impacted burnout levels among working mothers in leadership positions and how income and work schemes play an important role in their burnout. Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 961 working mothers and fathers in leadership positions in Mexico under different work schemes during the COVID-19 lockdown. Snowball sampling was used in this study. The Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey was distributed online, using the burnout scale, with income and work schemes as categorical variables. FindingsBurnout levels among working mothers in leadership positions were higher than those among working fathers. The hybrid work scheme (i.e. working from home combined with working from office) lessens burnout in working mothers, contributing both theoretically and empirically to better understanding burnout levels of mothers in leadership positions. Practical implicationsThe findings can encourage human resource areas to reflect on the overexertion and work stress of mothers in leadership positions, and potential support resources can be provided to motivate them and retain their talent. Originality/valueThe introduction of the notion of lockdown in a conceptual model to observe its interaction with burnout and hybrid work schemes (i.e. working from the office and home) has rarely been discussed in existing literature. The impact, especially for working mothers in leadership positions, must be thus carefully considered while dealing with future crises, thereby helping to develop policies and processes accordingly.

Who would continue to work from home in Hong Kong as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses?

This study aims a more thorough understanding of individuals' motivations and determinants of working from home (WFH) at various phases of the pandemic. To achieve this research goal, we analyze attitudes towards WFH, the profiles of various types of workers engaged in WFH, and the determinants of the current and future expected frequency of WFH among 816 workers in Hong Kong. We identify four types of teleworkers: (1) those with little employer support, (2) those distracted with tech problems, (3) those with good home office, and (4) those with substantial employer support. Separate latent-class choice models present that WFH frequencies in early phases of the pandemic (and at the moment), attitudes towards WFH, and certain constraining/facilitating factors affect the (expected) frequency of WFH. This study provides valuable insights into the types of teleworkers and the determinants of WFH, which will help policymakers create ways to encourage (or discourage) the future frequency of WFH.

Teleworking and housing demand.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend towards teleworking. Many predicted that this would shift housing demand to the suburbs and homes with the potential for high quality office space. We examine these predictions using a survey of the working age population who live in the private housing sector. The majority in the sector are happy with their current home, but new teleworkers who plan to continue to do so - accounting for one fifth of the population - are characterised by a higher intention to move. Consistent with predictions, these teleworkers value a high quality home office more than others and are prepared to live further away from the centre to find it.

Accounting for the spatial incidence of working from home in an integrated transport and land model system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a seismic shift in the way in which work is conducted. Remote working or working from home is becoming a centrepiece of the next normal with strong support from both employers and employees. With reduced commuting activity associated with an expected 1 to 2 days working from home for many occupations and industries, associated with releasing commuting time to spend on other activities including changed levels and patterns on non-commuting travel, it is necessary, indeed essential, to allow for the incidence of working from home in integrated strategic transport and location model systems. In this paper we show the extent of changes in travel behaviour and the performance of the transport network before and after allowing for working from home, which is more impactful than any new infrastructure project. The differences are significant and suggest that even within the existing modelling frameworks used pre-COVID-19, we need to make adjustments in the modal activity overall and by location. Using the MetroScan platform in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan area, we present a number of outputs to illustrate the significant impacts of working from home such as modal activity (total and shares), emissions, government revenues, and generalised cost of travel.

Telecommuting and Travel during COVID-19: An Exploratory Analysis across Different Population Geographies in the U.S.A.

This study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telecommuting (working from home) and travel during the first year of the pandemic in the U.S.A. (from March 2020 to March 2021), with a particular focus on examining the variation in impact across different U.S. geographies. We divided 50 U.S. states into several clusters based on their geographic and telecommuting characteristics. Using K-means clustering, we identified four clusters comprising 6 small urban states, 8 large urban states, 18 urban-rural mixed states, and 17 rural states. Combining data from multiple sources, we observed that nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce worked from home during the pandemic, which was six times higher than the pre-pandemic period, and that these fractions varied across the clusters. More people worked from home in urban states compared with rural states. As well as telecommuting, we examined several activity travel trends across these clusters: reduction in the number of activity visits; changes in the number of trips and vehicle-miles traveled; and mode usage. Our analysis showed there was a greater reduction in the number of workplace and nonworkplace visits in urban states compared with rural states. The number of trips in all distance categories decreased except for long-distance trips, which increased during the summer and fall of 2020. The changes in overall mode usage frequency were similar across urban and rural states with a large drop in ride-hailing and transit use. This comprehensive study can provide a better understanding of the regional variation in the impact of the pandemic on telecommuting and travel, which can facilitate informed decision-making.

Emerging work environments in the pandemic era: a gendered approach to work-life balance programs.

As the coronavirus pandemic affects virtually every sector of the economy, this ongoing review examines the effects of remote working on women's job performance-including hypotheses about serious activities and how they may balance work and family. In recent years, psychometric testing has become increasingly popular with organizations worldwide, and they are looking at this method to better understand how women achieve balance in their lives. The aim of this work is to investigate how different aspects of psychometrics and factors relating to work-life balance influence women's satisfaction levels. An exploratory factor assessment (EFA) and a confirmatory factor assessment (CFA) using a seven-point Likert scale were performed on data collected from 385 selected female IT workers whose satisfaction levels toward psychometric assessments in their organization were examined. The current study uses EFAs and CFAs to develop and identify the key factors in women's work-life balance. The results also showed that three significant variables accounted for 74% of the variance: 26% from work and family, 24% from personal factors, and 24% from loving their job.

Working From Home, Work-Family Conflict, and Mental Strain During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Moderating Role of Personal Resilience

Former studies have shown that working from home can contribute to work-family conflict, which in turn can negatively affect employees' well-being. According to the assumptions of the job-demands-resources model, personal resources can moderate the individual risk of strain. To test this assumption for personal resilience, I conducted an online-survey with N = 142 employees working from home during the third wave of the COVID-19-pandemic. I examined irritation and vitality as dependent variables, work-family conflict as an independent variable, and resilience as a potential moderator. I hypothesized that resilient employees report less irritation when confronted with work-family conflict. Modorator analyses confirmed the postulated indirect effect. Resilience thus proves to be a resource that can support employees in better coping with the specific demands when working from home. I discuss the practical implications for human resource development and health promotion.

Home office shift and sedentary behaviour in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic: descriptives and related socioecological correlates.

COVID-19 working restrictions resulted in a location shift of white-collar workers into their home office (HO). Little is known about how the proportion of HO affects sitting and physical activity (PA) behaviour during working hours, and potential correlates are not well understood. A cross-sectional sample of currently working adults in HO (n = 575) completed questionnaires regarding HO proportion before and during the pandemic, work-related sitting and PA, and socioecological factors regarding HO sitting time. The reported HO proportion increased by 46.7 ± 40.6% during COVID-19 working restrictions. Workday sitting proportion correlates positively with HO proportion. The regression model identified gender, education level, working hours, working environment to stand during work, and transport and leisure PA as correlates of the workday sitting proportion in HO. This study provides findings that high HO proportions are related to higher work-related sitting times and adds insights into possible correlates of sitting time in HO.Practitioner summary: Working in the home office (HO) is a common characteristic of flexible work in white-collar workers. This study found that the workday sitting proportion correlates positively with HO proportion and identified correlates of the workday sitting in HO. Practitioners should consider the potential impacts of HO on work-related sedentary behaviour in future workplace health promotion.

Working from Home: Before and After the Pandemic.

Hilary Silver on pandemic trends.

Synchronization of water-energy consumption in residential and non-residential buildings during COVID-19

COVID-19 has made working from home (WFH) a widely prevalent mode of work, resulting in highly complex changes of energy and water consumption in buildings. To understand these changes, this study applies the concept of water-energy nexus (WEN) in the analysis of energy and water data in residential and non-residential buildings in Ontario, Canada, before and during the pandemic. The study found the overall energy and water consumption of buildings exhibited a decreasing trend, with the most significant change found in water consumption. Energy and water consumption increased in residential buildings but decreased in non-residential buildings;the changes in energy and water consumption were synchronized over the WFH period. This study also elucidated that changes were related to the demographic and job attributes. When dealing with the peak load of residential consumption with a high consumption benchmark, due consideration should be given to the stronger synchronization of the two types of resources to improve the resilience of residences to cope with the uncertainty of unexpected large-scale public health crisis. Applying WEN to building resource consumption during WFH for the first time, the findings shed light on the need to enhance integrated water and energy management. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Rebalancing gender inequity and the digital divide: Unintended consequences of working from home

Working-from-home (WFH) models represent one of several types of flexible work practices gaining ground in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular interest is the increase in the use of digital technology platforms for work collaboration and communication. These have been largely well received in terms of their potential to mitigate disruptions to business activity and employee work life in the absence of in-person work contexts. Research indicates that the sales and adoption of many digital platforms have witnessed sharp increase since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. These have contributed to creating seamless organisational collaborations, shared access to electronic data and new organisational processes to mirror previous in-person work arrangements. Many organisational members have had to upskill at rapid rates to catch up with these developments. Despite the benefits to employees, managers and organisations in terms of facilitating continued remote work, we illuminate the hidden inequities within this work model and highlight the unintended consequences from the standpoint of gender, race and the digital divide. We identify key aspects of WFH that represent underlying factors which create conditions for inequities and illustrate these with a case study. Additionally, we analyse the role of technology as a platform for WFH, noting impacts on employee well-being, team dynamics, as well as manager-employee relations. We conclude by raising implications for managers, offering recommendations to rebalance the inequities identified, such as developing an inclusive organisational culture, creating systems to access and evaluate employee feedback as well as developing appropriate response mechanisms that support particularly vulnerable groups. © 2022 Kemi Ogunyemi and Adaora I. Onaga. All rights reserved.

Effects of Remote Working in Fortune 500 Global Companies

This study employs a descriptive documentary methodology to examine the impact of remote work on productivity and output among the largest global companies listed on the Fortune 500. The research focus is on the adaptability and effectiveness of remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it might be applied to other organizations in the future. The study draws on various secondary sources such as research studies, previous proposals, books, articles, and relevant content from the Fortune 500 companies. The findings aim to provide insight into how these large global companies have adapted to changes in the way of working, the challenges and opportunities that have arisen, and the potential implications for other organizations considering remote work in the future. © 2022 Universidad de Santander. All Rights Reserved.

Remote working during COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: lessons learned and what the future holds

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) practices were adopted to implement and manage remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify whether and how remote working would/should continue in the future, in a developing and a unique cultural set up in the Asian context. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted using qualitative methodology with semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 26 Human Resource Professionals (HRPs) of different industries in Sri Lanka. The information was collected in two phases;at the initial stages of the pandemic during May–June 2020 and after one year and four months, in October–November 2021. Findings: The findings explain the different HRM activities executed by HRPs, such as employee engagement activities, setting guidelines, employee support, performance management and training, to make remote working successful when it was implemented as an emergency and involuntary work arrangement with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. However, over time, the interest and interventions of HRPs appeared to have dwindled, and many companies are waiting to revert to on-site work when the pandemic situation settles. It appears that remote working will remain a transitory work arrangement to respond to crises or exceptional circumstances rather than a permanent work arrangement for many companies in Sri Lanka. Originality/value: The study contributes to and expands the knowledge of HRM in managing remote working during and beyond the pandemic in a developing Asian country perspective and the suitability of remote working and HRM practices for specific national cultural contexts. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Sociomateriality in Action: Theorizing Change in Sociomaterial Practices of Working from Home

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an enforced ‘big bang' adoption of working from home, involving the rapid implementation and diffusion of digital collaboration technologies. This radical shift to enforced working from home led to substantial changes in the practice of work. Using a qualitative research approach and drawing on the interview accounts of 29 knowledge workers required to work from home during the pandemic, the study identified five sociomaterial practices that were significantly disrupted and required reconfiguration of their constitutive social and material elements to renew them. The paper further shows evidence of the ongoing evolution of those sociomaterial practices among the participants, as temporary breakdowns in their performance led to further adjustments and fine-tuning. The study extends the body of knowledge on working from home and provides a fine-grained analysis of specific complexities of sociomaterial practice and change as actors utilize conceptual and contextual sensemaking to perceive and exploit possibilities for action in their unfolding practice of work. Against the backdrop of the increasing adoption of hybrid working in the aftermath of the pandemic, the paper offers four pillars derived from the findings that support the establishment of a conducive working from home environment. © 2023, The Author(s).