Connecting and relating in Brazil: Implications of remote work

COVID-19 triggered a monumental shift to remote work. The challenge of connecting and relating among knowledge employees emerged globally, and research about remote work in this unique circumstance surged. However, we know more about the impact of remote work on knowledge employees in low-context cultures than in high-context. Given that Brazil is high context, we explored how remote work impacted relating and connecting among knowledge employees in Brazil. First, employees lost the informality of work-life;instead of informal, fluid communication and collaboration, participants had to book appointments and schedule time to discuss simple issues. Second, good-humoured behaviours diminished, implicating connectedness. Third, non-verbal communication ceased, and employees lost facial expressions, eye contact, and other prevalent signs necessary for context. Fourth, the loss of unstructured exchange of experiences and ideas lessened tacit knowledge sharing. Fifth, workspace inequalities emerged as the employees' homes were unequipped for remote work. Lastly, the most significant win was work-life balance. Therefore, remote work in high-context cultures is not without peril;culture and socioeconomics underline remote work's self-generating, self-organizing mechanisms. Thus, corporate leaders and human resource professionals should address remote work as a layered phenomenon and, carefully, with employees, co-construct the notion of connecting and relating. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Understanding the shared working spaces: a Geography of Co-working supply in Delhi.

The present paper investigates the location pattern of co-working spaces in Delhi which is absent in the existing body of knowledge. Delhi is a political, administrative, educational, scientific and innovation capital that accommodates many co-working spaces in India. We developed Ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models to understand the associations of co-working spaces of digital labourers with other urban socio-economic, services and lifestyle variables in Delhi using secondary data for 117 coworking locations in 280 municipal wards of NCT-Delhi. Model diagnostic suggested that the GWR model provides additional information regarding geographical distribution of coworking spaces, and density of bars, median house rent, fitness centres, metro train stations, restaurants, cinemas, cafés, and creative enterprises are statistically significant parameters to estimate them. The importance of coworking spaces has increased in the post-disaster period, so this study informs public policies to benefit people and companies who choose coworking routes, and recommends urban planners, developers, and real-estate professionals to consider the proximity of creative industries in planning and developing coworking spaces in the future. Also, in the post COVID-19 period, to increase local jobs and long-term place sustainability, a localised policy intervention for coworking spaces in Delhi is highly recommended.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Remote Working and Coworking Spaces in Germany—Narrative Literature Analyses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hit the whole German society and with that the way of working as well as the trend of coworking, as it happened similarly in other western societies. With information about governmental measurements, the world of work, mobility and transportation, people's behavior, companies' strategies, the real estate market, and changes in new working spaces from different sources this article creates a narration of immediate impacts, medium-term and long-run effects. Finally, this article aims to draw potential coming changes and further trends for coworking spaces. © 2023, The Author(s).

Concluding Remarks: European Narratives About the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Coworking

This book is a collection of narrations about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic from different countries collected within the Workgroup 2ATLAS of the COST action CA18214 ‘The Geography of New Working Spaces and the Impact on the Periphery'. This conclusive chapter comprehends the previous chapters and offers a comparative view regarding the effects on Coworking Spaces (CS), Governmental Measurements to curb the Pandemic, Effects on Work, Remote/Telework Work, Working-From-Home (WFH), Effects on Commuting, Transportation Mods and Services, Effects on the Housing, Place of Residence, Office and Real Estate Market, Effects on Tourism, Effects on Urban Planning. The final section of this chapter draws attention to the direct and indirect effects of coworking spaces. Direct effects on individuals and indirect effects as living-, work- and build-environment, taking into account space and economy, environment (energy) and urban planning. This book contributes to a fast-growing amount of literature on new working spaces, especially coworking spaces. Further empirical studies should be conducted to create evidence as a solid foundation for policies at the EU, national and subnational levels. © 2023, The Author(s).

Working (and Living) During Corona Times and Implications for Planning and Mobility—The Case of Norway

The COVID-19 pandemic has relatively affected the Norwegian context and other Nordic countries (except for Sweden), considering the prudential authorities and policies adopted during the various waves of the virus. The capacity for remote working and high flexibility of working (already observed before the pandemic) have contributed to adapt to the changes. In this context, the study aims to explore the ways of working and living during the Corona Times and the implications for planning and mobility in Norway, considering the short-medium and long-term effects of the pandemic. First, the study presents an overview of the main impacts of the pandemic in the Nordic countries (such as mortality, labour market and absence from work, including the closure of workplaces), and second, it focuses on Norway, in light of the national measures. Then, the working related trends (for example, growth of demand of new working spaces and the increased number of workers in the public libraries) are discussed, as well as the major implications for our cities, such as new housing demands, commuting habits and transportation modes. Finally, an overview of the current debate within the Norwegian society shows the high interests of planners, other experts, and media in understanding the future of work, such as hybrid forms, new jobs, working remotely (but from where?). © 2023, The Author(s).

Remote Working and New Working Spaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic—Insights from EU and Abroad

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise of remote working worldwide and less central areas have become more and more attractive for these workers. Consequently, remote workers started working from home, in new working spaces, and from everywhere. These changes have affected workers' wellbeing, and cities, peripheral are rural areas. The chapter explores why people decided to keep working remotely even after the pandemic restrictions were cancelled. Furthermore, we give an empirical snapshot of the actual situation of remote workers and how this has and will change geographical patterns. The impact of remote working on wellbeing is described, according to the literature, and some thoughts on how remote working affects the future of coworking spaces and hybrid spaces are presented. © 2023, The Author(s).

Introduction to the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Coworking

The current chapter introduces in detail the aims and structure of the book ‘European Narratives on Remote Working and Coworking during the COVID-19 Pandemic'. This introductory chapter depicts the importance of studying the phenomenon of coworking spaces (CSs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature on new working spaces, particularly CSs, is growing fast in various disciplines. During the past three years of the pandemic, some scholars have attempted to explore the short- and long-term effects on ways and spaces of working. This book is the first attempt to collect country-specific empirical studies from 12 European countries. © 2023, The Author(s).

Exploring differences in the subjective well-being of teleworkers prior to and during the pandemic

Purpose: This study aims to find out the differences in the employee well-being of teleworkers in Hungary prior to and during the pandemic restrictions and explores whether the differences stem from (1) the presence of children or (2) the changes in the telework situation (freely chosen or forced by pandemic restrictions). Design/methodology/approach: As the first step of this study of office workers, the authors created a "one working day" measure within the conceptual framework of positive psychology that is suitable for comparing the well-being factors experienced in various work environments. The survey was completed by two independent samples: 52 office workers regarding home office before the appearance of the virus in Europe (Phase 1) and 152 office workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary (Phase 2). Findings: This research reveals that teleworking during the pandemic has increased irritability and tension for all teleworkers, but the stress levels, the overall subjective well-being and the level of engagement were significantly affected only in the case of those teleworkers who raise small children. Despite the overlapping responsibilities of parents, their work-related sense of accomplishment did not change during the COVID-19 lockdown. The forced home office setup may, however, entail the strengthening of co-worker relationships in the online space. Originality/value: By understanding the relationship between well-being predictors and the changes in the situation of remote working, the results may help develop intervention programs to promote employee well-being in challenging times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Flexible work arrangements and millennial engagement: A study of the engagement outcomes of the perceptions, tools, and usage of flexible work arrangements

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) became a way of life for many as they navigated the numerous challenges that arose from the COVID-19 global pandemic. As organizations evaluate their FWA policies and implementation, it is worth asking how FWAs relate to employee engagement and, importantly, how can organizations shape that relationship? These questions may be especially pertinent to millennial employees who value many of the benefits of FWAs, such as increased autonomy and independence, and who are experiencing noticeably lower rates of engagement compared to their older coworkers. As such, this research is grounded in the question, what is the relationship between employees' flexible work arrangement experience (FWA use, FWA perceptions, and FWA tools) and their level of engagement? Furthermore, does this relationship differ for millennial employees? This research surveyed 3,555 employees from a U.S.-based company on their FWA use, FWA perceptions, and FWA tools. Additionally, participants completed the UWES-9 engagement survey. These data, along with participant generation, were analyzed through several regression models to explore the relationships between specific FWA components and employee engagement. This research demonstrated that FWA perceptions and FWA tools had strong positive relationships with employee engagement, while FWA use did not. These findings provide significant practical takeaways for organizations looking to leverage FWAs to improve employee engagement;most importantly, it is paramount that employees feel flexibility is supported in the organizations even if they never choose to use FWAs. Additionally, generation was not found to moderate the relationships between FWAs and engagement, but statistically significant differences between generations were noted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The hybrid office: A case study of designing work environments for new ways of working

The present article in the journal Group. Interaction. Organization (GIO) deals with the creation of hybrid work environments for knowledge workers. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, a coexistence of working in the office and from home is emerging. This so-called hybrid work scenario implies three challenges for organizations: a changing role of the office building, changing needs of the users with respect to the office and changing work activities that require the continuous adaptation of work environments. This paper describes the design of a new work environment, based on a case study that addresses these three challenges. Insights are discussed with reference to existing scientific evidence. It is becoming apparent that physical office environments play a central role as a place for interaction, collaboration and corporate culture for employees working hybridly. Furthermore, design options for user-centricity and participation in the development phase as well as for continuous adaptation in regular operation of the office space are described. This article enriches existing findings on the impact of work environments by taking a deeper look at the creation process as such and offers impulses for the design of hybrid work environments in organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (German) Der vorliegende Beitrag in der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO) beschaftigt sich mit der Entstehung hybrider Arbeitsumgebungen fur Wissensarbeiter. Durch die Covid19-Pandemie zeichnet sich zukunftig eine Koexistenz des Arbeitens im Buro und aus dem Homeoffice ab. Durch dieses hybride Arbeiten entstehen drei Herausforderungen fur Unternehmen: eine veranderte Rolle des Burogebaudes, veranderte Bedurfnisse der Nutzer des Buros und sich verandernde Arbeitsaktivitaten, die die kontinuierliche Anpassung von Arbeitsumgebungen notwendig machen. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die Gestaltung einer New Work-Arbeitsumgebung anhand eines Fallbeispiels, welches diesen drei Herausforderungen begegnet. Diese werden jeweils vor dem Hintergrund bestehender wissenschafticher Erkenntnisse diskutiert. Es zeichnet sich ab, dass physische Buroumgebungen fur hybrid arbeitende Mitarbeitende als Ort fur Interaktion, Kollaboration und Unternehmenskultur eine zentrale Rolle spielen. Weiterhin werden Gestaltungsoptionen fur Nutzerzentrierung und Partizipation in der Entstehungsphase sowie fur eine kontinuierliche Anpassung im Regelbetrieb der Buroraume beschrieben. Der vorliegende Beitrag bereichert die bestehenden Erkenntnisse zur Auswirkung von Arbeitsumgebungen um einen tieferen Blick auf den Entstehungsprozess als solchem und bietet Organisationen Impulse zur Gestaltung hybrider Arbeitsumgebungen. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Remote work mindsets predict emotions and productivity in home office: A longitudinal study of knowledge workers during the Covid-19 pandemic

Over the past decades, developments in information and communication technologies have enabled more and more employees to work from locations other than the office in what has come to be interchangeably called remote work, telecommuting, or distributed work. This trend has attracted much scholarly attention, in particular the question of how remote work can be implemented in optimal ways for employees and organizations. A new urgency was brought to the study of remote work when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted organizations across the world to shift their workforce unexpectedly and rapidly to home office. In light of the crisis, many organizations have planned to increase the amount of remote work available to employees, including "tech giants" such as Twitter that announced employees can work remotely forever if they desire. Accordingly, scholars and practitioners alike predict that in the aftermath of the global crisis, remote work will be part of the "new normal". (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Use of work-space at home under COVID-19 conditions in the UAE

Purpose The study assesses user satisfaction of workspaces modified at home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby analyzing the flexibility of modern homes in the twenty-first century in the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using a structured online survey from 113 participants about their home office created to accommodate working/studying from home. Analysis of survey revealed the importance of type of residence in affecting satisfaction of functionality and well-being. Findings The collected demographic variables played a crucial role in affecting satisfaction with various elements, from indoor air quality of the working space to the amount of natural light received by the space. Finally, participants who felt the need to add color and change furniture layout, experienced feelings of productivity, commitment and motivation by working from home. The same participants decided to keep the amended changes to their living spaces, even after they return to working from their offices. The study concludes by presenting implications of this experience on future home designs;thereby offering suggestions of authorities, and designers to produce more flexible and resilient houses. Research limitations/implications A relatively small sample with limited professions was considered. Further research recommendations include increasing the sample size to target more categories of the residents of the UAE. Future research can expand the criteria used to evaluate satisfaction and include noise levels as well as accessibility. Practical implications The study offers suggestions to authorities and designers to produce more flexible and resilient homes, taking demographics into consideration. Roof gardens, shading devices and privacy needs are crucial elements for the future home. Originality/value The research provides enough information to inform designers about the future of space interiors, how well they are configured, serviced and how adaptable they are, in order to enhance user satisfaction.

Escaping the cubicle: Exploring the physical work environment of the home

A rise in contingent work, the increasing real estate costs for organizations, technological advances, and more recently, restrictions on movement emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a sharp increase in the number of employees working from home. These have significant implications for individuals, organizations, and society. Yet the physical work environment within the home has received little attention from scholars. Research on traditional office settings indicates that the physical environment influences a range of well-being and performance outcomes, indicating a critical need for researchers to consider the impact of the physical work environment at home. To address this issue, the authors briefly summarize the effects of the physical work environment and review existing research on working from home. They then propose directions for future research and emerging methodologies to undertake this research. Finally, they detail the practical implications that these changes bring for individuals, organizations, and society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Do they work? Exploring possible potentials of neighbourhood Telecommuting centres in supporting sustainable travel

Digitally enabled neighbourhood telecommuting centres (NTCs) in residential areas may have the potential to reduce the environmental burdens of transport by shortening work trips and enabling modal shifts. This paper presents the results of a Living Lab where 67 participants were given access to an NTC. Through this Living Lab, this study identifies several conditions required for an NTC to substantially reduce commuting and overall have a positive impact on sustainable travel. The results indicate that while a small group of participants who lived very close to the NTC made significant lifestyle changes and adopted more sustainable travel practices, the overall changes in the sustainability aspects of travel for most participants were minimal. The majority of the participants merely exchanged a day spent working from home for a day at the NTC, as they were only allowed to be absent from the employer’s office one day per week. Further, some participants found it difficult to work remotely due to organisational roles and workplace norms. Another factor that limited the sustainability effect of the NTC was that most participants normally commuted by train, but in a few cases travelled to the NTC by car. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, most participants were required to work exclusively from home, which proved to have both positive and negative effects on the participants’ everyday lives and well-being. The participants reported a radical shift in attitudes towards remote working during this period, which they believed could lead to remote working becoming more common after the pandemic. In this case, NTCs could possibly play an important role in enabling this shift, by remedying some of the identified drawbacks of working from home. This could in turn enable a larger reduction in commuting. In areas where more people commute by car, sustainability effects would likely be greater.

Fighting the "loneliness epidemic" in the workplace;the effect of workplace order: An empirical research on physicians working in Van Province

Workplace loneliness leads to errors and poor performance. Health is one of the sectors with the most severe consequences. Workplace arrangements where doctors spend most of their time need to be balanced between patient-doctor privacy and the doctor's feeling of loneliness. However, previous studies have been discussed at the psychological level. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of workplace order as a physical and concrete variable on loneliness in business life. The conceptual workplace layout was developed as an operational scale, and validity and reliability analyses were conducted. As the research universe, doctors working in Van Province, who spent most of their time in a working environment and heavy patient traffic, were selected. As a result, it has been determined that the scale of workplace design developed is a valid and reliable scale that can be used in organizational behavior research, and workplace privacy dimension (workplace allocation) affects loneliness at work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Isyeri yalnizliginin olumsuz etkilerine ragmen duzen ve mahremiyet bazi islerde vazgecilmez ikilidir. Bu celiskilerin en vahim sonuclarinin oldugu sektorlerin basinda saglik gelmektedir. Doktorlarin is yeri duzenlemelerinin hasta-doktor mahremiyeti ile doktorun yalnizlik duygusuna suruklenmemesi arasinda dengelenmesi gerekmektedir. Bu calismanin amaci fiziki ve somut bir degisken olarak is yeri duzenin, is yasaminda yalnizlik uzerine etkisinin incelenmesidir. Calismada kavramsal olarak ortaya konulan is yeri duzeni, isletimsel bir olcek olarak gelistirilmis, gecerlilik ve guvenirlik analizleri yapilmistir. Arastirma evreni olarak zamanlarinin cok buyuk bir bolumunu muayenehane ortaminda ve yogun bir hasta trafigi icerisinde geciren, ayrica gunumuzde pandemiye donusen Corona virusu nedeni ile neredeyse 7/24 calisan Van Ilinde gorev yapan doktorlar secilmistir. Arastirma sonucunda gelistirilen Is Yeri Duzeni olceginin orgutsel davranis arastirmalarinda kullanilabilecek gecerli ve guvenilir bir olcek oldugu, is yeri duzeni mahremiyet (calisma alani tahsisi) boyutunun is yasaminda yalnizlik uzerinde etkili oldugu tespit edilmistir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The pandemic: Personal report after one year of online assistance

The author presents her reactions to the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on her work environment - the psychoanalytic office. In March 2020 she was forced to start working on-line with all her patients. The modifications that Covid-19 has imposed on her way of working are presented. The text is about the anxieties, technical modifications in the on-line setting, the gains, and learnings that this change provided. It is an account of the personal experience of the year from March 2020 to April 2021, of online work started abruptly due to the installation of the pandemic situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Portuguese) A autora apresenta suas reacoes ao impacto provocado pela pandemia da Covid-19 em seu ambiente de trabalho-o consultorio psicanalitico. Em marco de 2020, foi obrigada a comecar a trabalhar on-line com todos os seus pacientes. Sao apresentadas as modificacoes que a Covid-19 impos em sua maneira de trabalhar. O texto aborda as angustias, as modificacoes tecnicas no setting on-line, os ganhos e os aprendizados proporcionados por essa mudanca. E um relato da experiencia pessoal vivida entre marco de 2020 e abril de 2021, de trabalho on-line iniciado abruptamente devido a instalacao da situacao pandemica (AU). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Spanish) La autora presenta sus reacciones al impacto que provoco la pandemia Covid-19 en su entorno laboral-la oficina psicoanalitica. En marzo de 2020 se vio obligada a empezar a trabajar en lineacon todos sus pacientes. Se presentan las modificaciones que Covid-19 ha impuesto en su forma de trabajar. El texto trata sobre las ansiedades, modificaciones tecnicas en el setting en linea, los desarrollos y aprendizajes que este cambio proporciono. Es un relato de la experiencia personal del ano de marzo de 2020 a abril de 2021, de trabajos en linea que comenzaron abruptamente debido a la instalacion de la situacion pandemica. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Flexibility vs. community: Two studies about coworking space and the member's social connectivity

Although coworking is commonly associated with the concept of community, few studies have explored whether and how coworking empowers social network formations among the members. The primary goal of this dissertation is to explore how coworking members are socially connected and what environmental factors are related to their social networks formation. This dissertation is composed of two studies. Study #1 is an exploratory study that investigates coworking space characteristics and the members' social connectivity. Mixed methods were applied to study coworking spaces in New York City. A total of 12 coworking managers were interviewed, and this qualitative data was complemented by 160 hours of participant observation and surveys finished by 42 coworking members from 7 coworking spaces. The results suggest that social connectivity between the members was low even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Three major reasons were identified: lack of opportunity, lack of motivation, and a behavioral norm of minimizing interaction in the open-plan environment. Both the type of membership plan and space access time were found to be significantly associated with the members' social connectivity.These findings led me to explore the nature of flexibility in coworking. I propose that flexibility is about the spatial-temporal relationship between the space and the occupants, which can be described as how much visibility and mobility the space offers, and how much time the occupants are physically present in the space. A follow-up question was raised: are there potential conflicts between flexibility and the members' social network formation?A 2x2 online survey experiment (Study #2) was conducted to examine whether increased spatial-temporal flexibility negatively affects an individual's attitudes toward social interaction in the work settings. Based on data collected from a sample of 315 participants recruited using Amazon's Mechanical Turk, results suggested supportive evidence for my hypotheses. Increased flexibility in space and time negatively affected an individual's attitude toward social interaction. Increased time flexibility was also negatively associated with social connectivity according to the participants' previous coworking experience.These results suggest that the nature of coworking may embody a conflicting relationship between the two concepts: "flexibility" and "community." Overall, this dissertation offers a critical understanding of the coworking environment, the member's social connectivity, and the relationships between the two. What these findings imply for understanding coworking's future, and how environment and behavior research could be applied to study emerging design concepts are also addressed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Cities: Space/Time

The starting point of this chapter is the concept of urban rhythm as the key to understand the consequences and effects of urban space–time dynamics after pandemic. Critically analysing the international literature about the urban effects of pandemic, the chapter discusses the most relevant consequences of COVID-19 on supply and value chains, mobility, labour organisation restructuring connected with the raising of remote working. In the last part of the chapter the case of Milan is presented, with particular attention to the “15-min strategy” proposed by Milan Municipality in June 2020. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Evaluating organizational readiness to implement change within the workplace

Organizational change is an initiative to transition from a current state to a desired future state, where the initiatives can be either planned or unplanned, based on motivational factors. This study evaluates the impact of organizational characteristics and change management strategies adopted by facility management (FM) professionals to implement planned and unplanned changes due to internal and external factors. The implementation of new or innovative workplace strategies (i.e., flexible workspace) were considered as planned changes, whereas changes implemented at facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were considered as unplanned changes (e.g., remote working, safety protocols, etc.). The research team adopted multiple survey-based methodologies to collect information on planned and unplanned change management experiences from FM professionals and employees across the world. Through the help of an FM association, more than 1,500 responses were collected from organizations across 60 different countries. Using machine learning algorithms and other statistical concepts, the research team was able to identify the impact of key organizational attributes, change characteristics, and change management strategies responsible for the successful implementation and adoption of planned or unplanned change initiatives. The research findings provide industry specific recommendations for FM professionals to guide workplace change management efforts and improve the likelihood of successful change adoption within a built environment. With the limited availability of academic research on facility change management, this research can also assist professionals from a variety of occupations (e.g., design, development, human resources, real estate, and other leadership functions) to deliver successful change adoption, for both planned and unplanned change initiatives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)