"Unprecedented Times:" Experiences of Social Work and Public Health Professionals during Times of Public Crises.

Social workers and public health professionals in the U.S. were profoundly impacted by COVID-19, systemic racism, and the 2020 U.S. presidential election. This study examined their external job support, burnout, and job satisfaction in the context of these circumstances. The findings suggest respondents, who had graduate degrees in social work or public health, overemphasized their job satisfaction and underemphasized their burnout. While social work and public health professionals felt satisfied with their labor, not acknowledging burnout limits the amount of support they may access to effectively continue the work. Interestingly, participants who had more administrative functions reported higher job satisfaction scores and lower burnout scores. Traditionally, those in administrative positions have more control over their schedule and work responsibilities. Findings suggest that more training, opportunities for self-care, and discussions about safety and systemic racism are needed in the workplace for social workers and public health professionals.

Validation of a COVID-19 Job Exposure Matrix (COVID-19-JEM) for Occupational Risk of a SARS-CoV-2 Infection at Work: Using Data of Dutch Workers.

OBJECTIVES: A COVID-19 Job Exposure Matrix (COVID-19-JEM) has been developed, consisting of four dimensions on transmission, two on mitigation measures, and two on precarious work. This study aims to validate the COVID-19-JEM by (i) comparing risk scores assigned by the COVID-19-JEM with self-reported data, and (ii) estimating the associations between the COVID-19-JEM risk scores and self-reported COVID-19. METHODS: Data from measurements 2 (July 2020, n = 7690) and 4 (March 2021, n = 6794) of the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey-COVID-19 (NWCS-COVID-19) cohort study were used. Responses to questions related to the transmission risks and mitigation measures of Measurement 2 were used to calculate self-reported risk scores. These scores were compared with the COVID-19-JEM attributed risk scores, by assessing the percentage agreement and weighted kappa (κ). Based on Measurement 4, logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations between all COVID-19-JEM risk scores and self-reported COVID-19 (infection in general and infected at work). RESULTS: The agreement between the COVID-19-JEM and questionnaire-based risk scores was good (κ ≥ 0.70) for most dimensions, except work location (κ = 0.56), and face covering (κ = 0.41). Apart from the precarious work dimensions, higher COVID-19-JEM assigned risk scores had higher odds ratios (ORs; ranging between 1.28 and 1.80) on having had COVID-19. Associations were stronger when the infection were thought to have happened at work (ORs between 2.33 and 11.62). CONCLUSIONS: Generally, the COVID-19-JEM showed a good agreement with self-reported infection risks and infection rates at work. The next step is to validate the COVID-19-JEM with objective data in the Netherlands and beyond.

Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on refractive errors in Italian children aged 5-12 years: A multi-center retrospective study.

PURPOSE: to explore the potential consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown on the prevalence of myopia among Italian children aged 5-12 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: retrospective multicenter study conducted in Italy. Population: children aged 5-12. Selection: random selection of children who received an eye exam between 2016 to 2021. Inclusion criteria: healthy children presenting for a routine eye exam. Exclusion criteria: presence of ocular comorbidities other than refractive error, such as blepharoptosis, media opacities, corneal or retinal dystrophies, strabismus, amblyopia, or concurrent therapy with atropine 0.01%. Outcome measure: age and spherical equivalent (SE) measured in diopters (D) in the right eye (RE) in cycloplegia. Statistical analysis: ANOVA test. RESULTS: total of 803 children. In the years prior to COVID-19, the mean SE ± SD of healthy age-school children was: 0.54 ± 1.49 D in 2016; 0.43 ± 1.84 D in 2017; 0.34 ± 1.41 D in 2018; 0.35 ± 1.75 D in 2019 (ANOVA, p = .659). In 2021, the mean SE changed to -0.08 ± 1.44 D (ANOVA, p = .005). Mean age was comparable in all groups (ANOVA, p = .307). The prevalence of myopes (SE ≤-0.5D) and hyperopes (SE ≥ 2D) was respectively 24.10% and 9.64% among children aged 60-96 months, and 63.86% and 6.02% among children aged 97-144 months. These values represent a statistically-significant increase in the number of myopes (Chi-square, p = .016) and decrease in the number of hyperopes (Chi-square, p = .001), as compared to previous years (.06 and.48 respectively). CONCLUSION: this retrospective study shows a statistically-significant decrease in the mean SE in children aged 5-12 in the year following the COVID-19 lockdown. The percentage of myopes has increased significantly, while the percentage of hyperopes has decreased. The lifestyle changes caused by the lockdown led children to spend more time on near-work activities and digital devices, and less time outdoors. These are known risk factors for the development and progression of myopia. Studies in different countries are encouraged.

On the Frontlines: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Workers' Well-Being.

The crisis created by the spread of COVID-19 brought increasing needs and referrals to social welfare services in many countries. However, at the same time, social services suffered from staff cutbacks and service closures, resulting in significant workload increases to address the hardships associated with the pandemic. This article investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Israeli social workers' well-being, using a mixed-methods design with a sample of 2,542 licensed social workers. Findings show that over 70 percent of social workers suffered from at least one health problem related to their work. Path analysis findings indicated that social workers who experienced greater service restrictions reported a greater decrease in job satisfaction and experienced higher levels of stress and work-related problems. Machine learning emotion-detection analysis revealed that the pandemic affected their lives, causing feelings of fear, frustration, and sadness. This article demonstrates how social workers whose work was characterized by greater service restrictions were less satisfied with their jobs, more stressed, and experienced greater job-related health problems, and concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work practice in times of crisis.

Factors associated with work-family enrichment among working Israeli parents during COVID-19 lockdowns.

This study examined work-family enrichment, protective resources and psychological implications among working Israeli parents during COVID-19. In this cross-sectional study, 409 working parents were recruited during Israel's third lockdown. Levels of FWC/WFC and resilience were moderate, psychological distress and fear of COVID-19 were low, and perceived social support was high. All the study variables showed significant associations with each other. A multivariate regression analysis explained 30% of the WFC and FWC variance. We found differences in FWC/WFC based upon children's age but not on parents' gender. FWC/WFC mediated the effect of perceived social support and resilience on fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. The findings explain the importance of personal resources during the pandemic in buffering the negative effects of parents' work- and family-related burdens and have important implications for helping families with young children cope during challenging times.

Making global health 'work': Frontline workers' labour in research and interventions.

This Special Issue of Global Public Health draws on the concept of 'body work' among those employed to support operationalising, researching, and implementing global health while in direct contact with the bodies of others. This collection brings into sharp focus the specific forms of labour of those occupying positions as frontline workers - those who make global health work. Making Global Health Work includes authors from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and geographies. Through compelling ethnographies, qualitative interviews, and focus group discussions, they explore 'body work' globally, including: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nigeria, Nepal, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), The Gambia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. These papers demonstrate that proximity to, and work on, the bodies of others engenders specific forms of (physical, emotional, mental, social, ethical, and political) labour, which occur not only in emergencies and pandemics, but also throughout the quotidian practice of global health. Making Global Health Work provides insights into the provision of maternal healthcare, treatment of multidrug resistant tuberculosis, rapid HIV testing programmes, sleeping sickness and polio eradication campaigns, mass drug administration clinical trials, epidemic preparedness and response, and the management and care of dead bodies. These papers argue for greater attention by global health actors on frontline workers in management of the complexities involved in making global health work.

Nurses' well-being during the coronavirus (2019) pandemic: A longitudinal mixed-methods study.

AIM: To determine prevalence, predictors and change over time of nurses' and student nurses' mental health and well-being, and explore nurses' perceptions, barriers and enablers of well-being. DESIGN: Longitudinal mixed-methods survey. METHODS: Forty-nine students and registered nurses participated from Victoria, Australia. Data were collected from December 2019 to July 2020. Validated psychometrics and free-text response questions were employed. Analysis used latent growth curve modelling, Pearson product-moment correlations and thematic analysis. RESULTS: A strong positive correlation was found between self-determination and work well-being, and a strong negative correlation between work well-being and flight risk. Several moderate relationships were found; a moderate positive correlation between work well-being and nurse manager ability, leadership and support, and a moderate negative correlation between burnout and staffing and resource adequacy. Collegial nurse-physician relationships deteriorated. Three themes, physical health, psychological well-being and social connection, were identified as important for nurses' well-being.

Effect of physical activity intervention on the musculoskeletal health of university student computer users during homestay.

Objectives. The coronavirus outbreak delivered the condition of dying from infection and forced people (especially university student computer users) to perform all working and non-working activities during homestay. In this situation, device usage for a longer duration is mainly responsible for work-related health issues. This study aims to discover the effect of a physical activity intervention (PAI) on computer users' musculoskeletal health during homestay. Methods. The investigation was performed on 40 university student computer users. To measure body discomfort before and after using the PAI, the body part discomfort scale of Corlett and Bishop was applied. Results. After implementing the PAI, the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) decrement in major body regions was reported as wrist/forearm (from 8.17 ± 1.45 to 4.57 ± 1.10), lower back (from 8.01 ± 1.42 to 4.40 ± 1.14), elbow (from 7.57 ± 1.71 to 3.49 ± 1.13) and neck (from 7.40 ± 1.71 to 4.02 ± 0.81). Conclusions. PAI significantly decreased the discomfort among users in various body regions. This research suggested that PAIs may reduce the risk of MSDs in the long term for different body regions.

An Investigation into Occupational Related Stress of At-Risk Workers During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Nearly all workers and industry sectors have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in some form since March 2020. However, the pandemic-related stressors experienced in the workplace may vary from industry to industry and may have disproportionally affected some workers. This study investigates increased stress levels, stressor events, and other perceptions of stress from at-risk workers during COVID-19. METHODS: An in-depth work-related stress survey that incorporated many aspects of work, life, work-life balance, and the health of employer-employee relationships was developed with a focus on COVID-19-related stressors. The cross-sectional survey was distributed online through professional networks from October to November 2021. The survey results were statically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) after grouping the industry sectors into the four groups to determine trends within these groupings. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 670 workers in sectors such as manual labor, business/office service, healthcare, and education. A variety of trends were determined between the occurrence of COVID-19 and work stress which had, in some cases, affected some industry sectors to a larger degree than others. More than 50% of the participants reported experiencing an increased workload since the onset of the pandemic with some sectors, like healthcare, reporting an increased workload more frequently at 80%. Around 55% of respondents believed they could be exposed to COVID-19 in their workplace, ranging from 52% of business/office service workers to 77% of healthcare workers. CONCLUSIONS: As workplaces navigate past the pandemic, occupational stress should be addressed head-on through workplaces providing expanded resources so as to assure work stress associated with future pandemics are mitigated appropriately. Whether the stressor is associated with irregular shift work or psychosocial aspects (i.e. relying on coworkers), many of these stressors have the possibility to become exacerbated by external factors such as pandemics.

"Make sure I hear snoring": Adolescent girls, trans, and non-binary youth using sound for sexual wellbeing boundary-making at home during COVID-19.

To understand how COVID-19's stay-at-home orders impacted youths' sexual and social development, we conducted five virtual focus groups (n=34) with adolescent girls', trans', and non-binary youths' aged 16-19 between April-June 2021 in the GTA. We queried experiences of home, privacy, and sexual wellbeing during Canada's third wave. Auto-generated zoom transcripts were coded using an inductive framework with NVivo. Field notes and team discussions on the coded data informed the analysis. This paper explores how sexual wellbeing during the pandemic is practiced in relation to, dependent upon, and negotiated at home. Using intersectionality theory and embodiment theory, this research analyzes how youth's diverse identities shape their understandings and experiences of sexual wellbeing. We found youth needed spaces where they were not only unseen, but importantly, unheard. We argue sound as an important piece of boundary-work that reveals the way youth construct space during precarious times. Youth primarily negotiated sonic privacy through (a) sound-proofing, (b) sound warnings and (c) "silent reassurance", a term we coined to describe the precursor of silence from other household members in order for youth to feel safe enough to practice sexual wellbeing. We found that white youth cited the bedroom as the best space for sexual wellbeing practices, but BIPOC youth felt the bedroom was only their best available option and still found they had to negotiate privacy. Attending to intersectionality theory, we expand on McRobbie and Garber's (1976) bedroom culture concept and widen Hernes' (2004) concept of physical, social and mental boundary-work to include sound as a fourth type, which straddles amongst them. This research shows how privacy, gender and sexual identities were negotiated at home in times of extreme uncertainty, highlighting how implications of home as a 'place' during the pandemic, constructs sexual wellbeing. Mapping how and where youth practice embodied sexual wellbeing exposes the ways that private and public understandings of identity relate to sexuality and geographies of home. We understand the home as a complex space that can not only determine sexual wellbeing, but where health promoting boundaries can be negotiated. We conclude with suggestions for supporting adolescent sexual wellbeing, inside and outside the home, during and after COVID-19.

Association Between Occupational Stress, Work Shift and Health Outcomes in Hospital Workers of the Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil: The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the level of occupational stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, how it changed, and its association with health outcomes of hospital workers in the Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil. A longitudinal study was conducted with 218 hospital workers over 18 years old. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for collecting sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, anthropometric, and health data. The main exposures were occupational stress, assessed through Job Content Questionnaire and classified according to the Demand-Control Model and reported shift work. Health outcomes considered were nutritional status assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), and Body Fat Percentage (BF%); health self-perception; and cardiovascular risk factors. We used McNemar chi-squared or Wilcoxon tests to compare levels of exposure and outcome variables before and during the pandemic, and odds ratios to evaluate associations between changes in occupational stress and shiftwork with health outcomes. During the pandemic, participants reported increased occupational stress and shift work, lower self-perceived health, and had higher BMI and cardiovascular risk factors, compared with before the pandemic. No association was observed between change in occupational stress and health outcomes. However, increased amount of shift work was related to increased BMI in the overall sample (OR 3.79, CI95% 1.40-10.30), and in health workers (OR 11.56; CI95% 2.57-52.00). These findings support calls to strengthen labour policies to ensure adequate working conditions for hospital workers in context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associations between Work-Family Balance, Parenting Stress, and Marital Conflicts during COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore.

As part of the "Circuit-breaker" social distancing measure to address COVID-19, the government of Singapore closed schools and workplaces from April to May 2020. Although this helped reduce transmission rates, for working parents, this period had been a challenging experience of working from home while providing care for children full-time. Problems in the work-home interface can have a significant impact on parenting and marital harmony. We analyzed data from 201 married and employed parents in Singapore using online surveys. Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of parents' work-family balance (WFB) and spousal and employer support. Linear regression was used to examine links between profiles with parenting stress and marital conflicts. Results indicated three distinct profiles of WFB and social support levels: (a) Strong (43%), (b) Moderate (38%), and (c) Poor (19%). Mothers were more likely than fathers to be in the Moderate and Poor profiles. One key finding is that profiles characterized by poorer WFB were found to be linked with higher parenting stress and increased marital conflicts. There are important variations in parents' abilities to balance work and family and levels of social support received. Lock-downs can affect parenting and marital harmony especially for parents with poor WFB and weak social support. Any attention given to supporting working parents is vital and urgent to counter any problems in the work-family interface during a lockdown.

The Experiences of Caretaking and Financial Stress among Social Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Social workers have engaged in promotive, preventive, and intervention work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that social workers are disproportionately women, and the essential nature of practice during the pandemic, how social workers experience caretaking and financial stressors warrants examination. Data are drawn from a larger cross-sectional survey of U.S.-based social workers (N = 3,118) conducted from June to August 2020. A convergent mixed-methods design included thematic content analysis and univariate, ordinal, and linear regression models. The sample was 90 percent female; average age was 46.4 years. Although 44 percent indicated moderate or significant caretaking stress, results varied by race/ethnicity, workplace setting, and age. Social workers of color were more likely to report caretaking (p < .001) and financial stress (p < .001) compared with White counterparts. Social workers in children/family services were more likely to report increased financial stress (p < .004). Older age was protective for both caretaking (p < .001) and financial stress (p < .001). Three distinct subthemes were found in caretaking stress (work/life balance, safety concerns, and positionality) and two in financial stress (uncertainty and absence of workplace recognition). Understanding workforce stressors may help organizations and policymakers better support an essential workforce integral to the United States' COVID-19 response and recovery.

The impact of COVID-19 on nurses (ICON) survey: Nurses' accounts of what would have helped to improve their working lives.

AIMS: To use nurses' descriptions of what would have improved their working lives during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. DESIGN: Analysis of free-text responses from a cross-sectional survey of the UK nursing and midwifery workforce. METHODS: Between 2 and 14 April 2020, 3299 nurses and midwives completed an online survey, as part of the 'Impact of COVID-19 on Nurses' (ICON) study. 2205 (67%) gave answers to a question asking for the top three things that the government or their employer could do to improve their working lives. Each participants' response was coded using thematic and content analysis. Multiple response analysis quantified the frequency of different issues and themes and examined variation by employer. RESULTS: Most (77%) were employed by the National Health Service (77%) and worked at staff or senior staff nurse levels (55%). 5938 codable responses were generated. Personal protective equipment/staff safety (60.0%), support to workforce (28.6%) and better communication (21.9%) were the most cited themes. Within 'personal protective equipment', responses focussed most on available supply. Only 2.8% stated that nothing further could be done. Patterns were similar in both NHS and non-NHS settings. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis provided valuable insight into key changes required to improve the work lives of nurses during a pandemic. Urgent improvements in provision and quality of personal protective equipment were needed for the safety of both workforce and patients. IMPACT: Failure to meet nurses needs to be safe at work appears to have damaged morale in this vital workforce. We identified key strategies that, if implemented by the Government and employers, could have improved the working lives of the nursing and midwifery workforce during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and could prevent the pandemic from having a longer-term negative impact on the retention of this vital workforce. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, urgency of the work and the target population being health and social care staff.

Does work from home reshape the urban rental structure? Early evidence from a rental gradient analysis in Auckland

Purpose: This study aims to identify the pandemic's impact on house rents by applying a rental gradient analysis to compare the pre-and post-COVID-19 periods in Auckland. The micro-level household census data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure of Statistics New Zealand is also applied to scrutinise this WFH trend as a robustness check. Design/methodology/approach: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, work-from-home (WFH) and e-commerce have become much more common in many cities. Many news reports have contended that households are leaving city centres and moving into bigger and better houses in the suburbs or rural areas. This emerging trend has been redefining the traditional theory of residential location choices. Proximity to central business district (CBD) is no longer the most critical consideration in choosing one's residence. WFH and e-commerce flatten the traditional bid rent curve from the city centre. Findings: The authors examined micro-level housing rental listings in 242 suburbs of the Auckland Region from January 2013 to December 2021 (108 months) and found that the hedonic price gradient models suggest that there has been a trend of rental gradient flattening and that its extent was almost doubled in 2021. Rents are also found to be increasing more in lower-density suburbs. Research limitations/implications: The results imply that the pandemic has accelerated the trend of WFH and e-commerce. The authors further discuss whether the trend will be a transient phenomenon or a long-term shift. Practical implications: Suppose an organisation is concerned about productivity and performance issues due to a companywide ability to WFH. In that case, some standard key performance indicators for management and employees could be implemented. Forward-thinking cities need to focus on attracting skilful workers by making WFH a possible solution, not by insisting on the primacy of antiquated nine-to-five office cultures. Social implications: WFH has traditionally encountered resistance, but more and more companies are adopting WFH policies in this post-COVID era. The early rental gradient and the micro-level household data analysis all confirm that the WFH trend is emerging and will likely be a long-term shift. Instead of resisting the change, organisations should improve their remote work policies and capabilities for this WFH trend. Originality/value: So far, empirical studies of post-COVID urban restructuring have been limited. This study aims to empirically test such an urban metamorphosis by identifying the spatial and temporal impacts of COVID on house rental gradients in the Auckland Region, New Zealand. The authors apply rental gradient analysis to test this urban restructuring hypothesis because the method considers the spatial-temporal differences, i.e. a difference-in-differences between pre-and post-pandemic period against the distance measured from the city centre. The method can control for the spatial difference and the endogeneity involved. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Working from Home and Worker Well-being: New Evidence from Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic piqued interest in remote work, but research yields mixed findings on the impact of working from home on workers' well-being and job attitudes. The authors develop a conceptual distinction between working from home that occurs during regular work hours (replacement work-from-home) and working from home that occurs outside of those hours (extension work-from-home). Using linked establishment-employee survey data from Germany, the authors find that extension work-from-home is associated with lower psychological well-being, higher turnover intentions, and higher work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts. By contrast, replacement work-from-home is associated with better well-being and higher job satisfaction, but higher work-to-family conflict. Extension work-from-home has more negative effects for women's well-being and work-to-family conflict. This distinction clarifies the conditions under which remote work can have positive consequences for workers and for organizations. © The Author(s) 2023.

Evaluation of COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal in Healthcare Workers

Introduction: Healthcare workers are at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic and identified as a priority group for COVID-19 vaccines. We aimed to determine to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate and reasons for vaccine refusal in healthcare workers in our hospital. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire consisting of eight questions was applied to healthcare workers working at Ankara City Hospital for 7.5 months after the start of the COVID-19 vaccine in our country, including COVID-19 vaccination, previous years' influenza vaccination, and reasons for vaccine rejection. Results: Six hundred twenty-eight healthcare workers participated in the study. Two hundred fifty-six (40%) of them were doctors. Ninenty-nine of the participants were not vaccinated, the rate of vaccine rejection was 15.7%. The rate of vaccine rejection was the lowest (8.2%) among doctors, and lower among doctors working in the fields of COVID-19 (p= 0.041). While the rates of getting the COVID-19 vaccine were significantly higher in those who had regular or intermittent influenza vaccination every year in the previous years, those who had never had the influenza vaccine did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine either (p= 0.000). The most common reason for vaccine rejection was 'fear of the side effects of the vaccine' (24%), while 'I believe the disease is mild' and 'I want to gain immunity naturally' were other common reasons. Conclusion: Vaccination of healthcare workers has gained even more importance in the COVID-19 pandemic, with both risky and severe working conditions and mortality rates. Determining the reasons for vaccine refusal, finding effective solutions, emphasizing the necessity of vaccination with scientific evidence are important for the control of the pandemic. Vaccination of health workers is a guide in community immunization.

Planes, trains, and automobiles: Commuting in the 2020s and beyond

In this introduction to the special issue about commuting, we invite readers to consider how this frequently occurring worker activity should be integrated and investigated within the organizational sciences. Commuting is ubiquitous in organizational life. Yet, despite this centrality, it remains one of the most understudied topics in the organizational sciences. This special issue seeks to remedy this oversight by introducing seven articles that review the literature, identify knowledge gaps, theorize through an organization science lens, and provide directions for future research. We introduce these seven articles by discussing how they address three cross-cutting themes (Challenging the Status Quo, Insights into the Commuting Experience, The Future of Commuting). We hope that the work within this special issue informs and inspires organizational scholars to engage in meaningful interdisciplinary research on commuting going forward. Plain Language Summary This special issue aims to encourage readers to consider how commuting research can and should be investigated within the organizational sciences. Commuting is a frequently occurring activity of daily living, but remains one of the most understudied topics in the organizational sciences. This special issue aims to address this issue through seven papers which review the literature, identify knowledge gaps, offer theoretical advancement, and yield future research directions. We introduce these seven articles via the presentation of three cross-cutting themes (Challenging the Status Quo, Insights into the Commuting Experience, The Future of Commuting). Our goal is that this special issue will inform and inspire future organizational science research on commuting. © The Author(s) 2022.

The future of work post Covid-19: key perceived HR implications of hybrid workplaces in India

Purpose: Human history observed an arduous time fighting the novel infectious respiratory disease Covid-19 coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China and spread rapidly across the globe in 2020. Economies and the countries including India around the world experienced dismay with nationwide lockdowns and the fear of the unknowing. The unforeseen circumstances enforced immediate transitions in the organizations' work environment through remote working, digital infrastructure, online collaborations and new ways of interaction. The pandemic altered the workplace trajectories in lasting ways as the employees settled into a new routine of working from home more quickly than imagined. Now, as India and many other countries slowly move beyond the crisis, there exists a need to realize the implications of the pandemic on the workplace and articulate the future of work. This article, therefore, investigates the key perceived benefits and the HR implications of the new and emerging concept of hybrid workplaces and presents an HRM framework for their successful adoption in India. The findings may prove crucial in framing new workplace norms and shaping them. Moreover, this research would provide practitioners, policymakers, business leaders and HR professionals insights about the need to review the existing workplaces and successfully roll out hybrid work models in accordance with HR strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of Systematic Review of Literature (SLR) was adopted to study the key perceived benefits and the HR implications of hybrid workplaces. Findings: The findings of the study would help business leaders, HR professionals, policymakers and researchers in developing HR policies and approaches for the adoption of the hybrid workplace as they chart the path toward the post-pandemic future. Research limitations/implications: The study stresses the HR implications of the future of work as the hybrid workplace paradigm evolves. The approach is explorative and would require quantitative validation in different sectors and countries. Originality/value: The study makes a direct link between the hybrid workplaces and the impetus for the transformation of HR strategies. It also examines the changing role of the human resources (HR) functions and professionals after the pandemic. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

"Should I stay or should I go?”—Why the future of global work may be less binary: Lessons on approaches to global crises from the experiences of expatriates during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has significantly impacted expatriates, affecting their ability to work effectively and their personal and family lives. This study explores their experiences in different phases of the pandemic, and their perspectives on the future of international living in light of such global disruption. Involving over 600 expatriates in 48 countries, the research shows shifts in motivation and priorities as a result of the crisis and reveals how family (extended and immediate) topped expatriates' concerns. The study examines if and how support systems worked and looks at coping mechanisms, skills, traits, previous experience, and attitudes which participants found useful. A common theme was "falling between two stools”—where expatriates were ineligible for support in either their home country or in their host country. Others described being "pulled in different directions” or "torn by a dilemma” with pros and cons in either choice. The study contributes to the questions about the future of global work with results of the survey revealing changing norms for expatriation and global mobility raising the possibility of more nuanced approaches to global projects and less binary options for global professionals and their families. © 2022 The Authors. Thunderbird International Business Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.