Chapitre 1. La charge professionnelle du télétravailleur.

The organization of work through the remote practice of professional activity maintains a strong link with the notion of workload, given the implications that can be generated in terms of duration, work intensification and therefore overload for the teleworker. The legal mobilization of this notion is developing with the very expansion of the practice of telecommuting. Under the banner of the employer’s general safety obligation, case law and legislation are likely to evolve (by reinforcing the obligation to control and monitor workloads), as is the case with the « forfait en jours » system, another flexible work organization method.

Chapitre 4. L'accident du travail chez soi.

The widespread use of teleworking during the health crisis reduced the flow of occupational accident claims by 20%. This applies to commuting accidents, as well as claims related to « immediate » or “deferred” risks (Rapp. annuel 2020 de l’Assurance maladie - Risques professionnels : Eléments statistiques et financiers, déc. 2021, p. 2 and 113). On the basis of these figures, working at home could be analyzed as a means of preventing occupational risks and improving workers’ health. In reality, however, these figures should not obscure the fact that telecommuting is a major occupational hazard. This is all the more the case given that, while telecommuting was not very widespread before the pandemic, it is now popular with employees and is being developed by many companies as a source of productivity (Rapp. CNP, May 16 2022). We therefore need to keep a close eye on the development of workplace accident legislation in this area, its adaptability to the specific claims experience of teleworkers and its perfectibility, not forgetting the thorny question of the possible recognition of the employer’s inexcusable fault in the event of the accident being covered by professional legislation.

Chapitre 2. Le télétravail et la prévention des risques professionnels.

The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred the development of telecommuting in many companies, which are now tending to make it a permanent fixture for activities that lend themselves to it. Despite its advantages, however, telecommuting does not exclude all occupational risks when carried out from the employee’s home. Under these conditions, the employer must guarantee the protection of teleworkers’ health by virtue of his safety obligation. But the implementation of a preventive approach is severely challenged by a private space that is beyond the employer’s control. What are these difficulties? How can we proceed? The ANI of November 26, which clarifies the legal framework for telecommuting, offers a few clues, and suggests a form of empowerment for employees and their managers.

Chapitre 3. La prévention des risques psychosociaux en contexte de télétravail : des questions (encore et toujours) en suspens.

For a long time, telecommuting was an atypical and little-used form of work organization. But the health crisis has changed all that. The rise of telecommuting has led to a radical transformation of the professional landscape. Its impact on the health of teleworkers is both major and little-known. In particular, the psychosocial risks induced by this work organization are difficult to grasp. What’s more, the law applicable to the protection of health in the workplace has not been adapted. All these circumstances call into question the need to create a common set of rules specific to telecommuting.

Chapitre 5. Télétravail et incivilités numériques : quelle prise en compte des risques pour la santé ?

Teleworkers who are exposed to digital incivilities need to be helped to adapt to teleworking arrangements, maintain close links with their team members, enjoy an effective right to disconnect, be trained in conflict management and set limits to protect their personal lives. This is the only way for teleworkers to remain motivated and efficient at work, in good physical and mental health, even when exposed to digital incivilities, whoever the perpetrator may be. But they can’t act in isolation: they need to be able to rely on the organization to which they belong, on the responsible commitment of management, and on the concerted and relevant action of employee representatives, both trade unions, for the collective negotiation of agreements aimed at reinforcing the protection of teleworkers’ health and working conditions, and elected representatives, to act in the event of infringements of people’s rights.

Working from home during COVID-19: boundary management tactics and energy resources management strategies reported by public service employees in a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Increased working from home has imposed new challenges on public service employees, while also granting opportunities for job crafting. Grounding on the Job Demands-Resources model and Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources theory this exploratory research aims to investigate the work-nonwork balance of employees one and a half years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the research focus lies on employees' job crafting strategies to optimize their working from home experience concerning boundary management and energy resource management. METHODS: Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with public service employees from different sectors in Germany. The experiences were content analyzed using the software MaxQDA and inductive and deductive categories were derived. RESULTS: Boundary management comprised different strategies such as communicative (e.g., negotiating work time), physical (e.g., going to the garden), temporal (e.g., logging off in between the work day) and behavioral (e.g., prioritizing tasks) strategies. The job crafting strategies regarding energy management included preventing exhaustion (e.g. taking breaks), healthy cooking and energy management in case of sickness (e.g. deciding on sick leave). CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative case study enriches research on job crafting by offering insights on boundary tactics and energy resources management strategies for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results point out different starting points for employees and decision makers, how a work-nonwork balance, energy management and thus employees' wellbeing may be increased when working from home in the future. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study design and methodology were approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Cologne and the study was prospectively registered (Ref No. 21-1417_1).

Impact of Shifting From Office Work to Telework on Workers' Physical Health: A Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to clarify the longitudinal association between teleworking and physical health changes of Japanese workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Participants were in a certain company who received mandatory health examinations in 2019 and 2020. In June 2020, the participants were asked about frequency of teleworking, which was introduced owing to the COVID-19. Whether physical health differed by the frequency of teleworking was analyzed. RESULTS: The participants were 3689 workers. Frequency of teleworking were associated with more deleterious changes in diastolic blood pressure, antilipidemic drug use, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase(GOT), Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase(GPT), metabolic syndrome, and insufficient walking time among men. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in women. CONCLUSIONS: Male workers who teleworked more frequently were more likely to experience a deterioration in their physical health within 1-year compared with those who worked at the office.

The relationship between the living environment and remote working: an analysis using the SHEL model.

Objective: This study investigates the relationship of living environment factors with satisfaction, work engagement, perceived productivity, and stress among teleworkers. Background: Given the increase in telecommuting since the onset of the pandemic, the study aims to identify how to create an optimum environment for telecommuting workers. Methods: By examining the relationships among these factors via multiple regression analysis, a comprehensive investigation of the telecommuting working environment is conducted, encompassing physical aspects and facilities as well as lifestyle rhythms and relationships with housemates. In doing so, the author identifies measures to create a more favorable living environment. The work environment of remote workers is examined from various perspectives using the framework of the SHEL model: Software (work content, lifestyle, etc.), Hardware (furniture, equipment, etc.), Environment (indoor environment), and Liveware (relationships with family members who reside with the worker). Results: The results suggest that positive factors, such as satisfaction and work engagement, are strongly influenced by the degree of job autonomy and the availability of a workspace dedicated to personal use. Negative aspects, such as stress, are significantly impacted by environmental noise, interruptions due to household tasks, and the use of ergonomic furniture.

The associations of psychosocial work exposures with suicidal ideation in the national French SUMER study.

BACKGROUND: The literature remains scarce on the work-related risk factors for suicide and suicidal ideation. The objectives were to explore the associations of psychosocial work exposures with suicidal ideation in a nationally representative sample of the working population. METHODS: The study was based on the sample of 25,977 employees (14,682 men and 11,295 women) of the national French 2016-17 SUMER survey. The outcome was suicidal ideation assessed using the PHQ-9 instrument. Psychosocial work exposures included various factors from the job strain and effort-reward imbalance models, and other concepts. Statistical analyses were performed using weighted methods, including weighted logistic regression models. Other occupational exposures and covariates were considered. Gender differences were tested. RESULTS: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 3.5 % without any difference between genders. Psychosocial work exposures were found to be associated with suicidal ideation. The strongest association was observed between workplace bullying and suicidal ideation. Associations were also found between job strain model factors, job insecurity, low esteem, work-family conflict, ethical conflict, teleworking, and low meaning, and suicidal ideation. The associations were in general similar for men and women. LIMITATIONS: The study had a cross-sectional design and no causal interpretation could be done. A reporting bias and a healthy worker effect may be suspected. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial work exposures played a major role in suicidal ideation. More research may be needed to confirm our results, as suicidal ideation is an important warning signal for suicide prevention. More primary prevention towards the psychosocial work environment may be useful to reduce suicidal ideation at the workplace.

Measuring remote working skills: Scale development and validation study.

Remote work, one of the most significant working arrangements of today, requires certain employee skills. Although there are some hints, there is not much information in the literature on this subject. This study aims to identify the skills required for productive remote working activities and to develop a scale for measuring these skills. For this purpose, a thorough review of the literature, consultation with experts, and analysis of data obtained from four samples with remote working experience were all conducted. Within this context, item generation and content validation, initial factor structure analysis, and factor structure confirmation and construct validity examination were performed. Consequently, the Remote Working Skills Scale was developed, which has 36 items and five dimensions (cybersecurity, problem-solving, time management, verbal communication, and written communication).

Study on Psychological Stress Perceived among Employees in an Italian University during Mandatory and Voluntary Remote Working during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: This cross-sectional study examined the perceived psychological well-being of administrative/technical employees and researchers/lecturers at the University of L'Aquila (Italy) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was carried out in two different periods of 2022: April 2022, when remote working was still mandatory, and December 2022, when the pandemic emergency had ended and, in Italy, remote working had become voluntary for two days a week and exclusively for administrative staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Perceived psychological well-being was investigated using the GHQ-12 (Global Health Questionnaire, short-form with 12 items), a self-administered questionnaire created on Google Forms and sent via email to all the employees of the University of L'Aquila. Statistical analysis was conducted using means, standard deviations, and frequency tables for the descriptive analysis of socio-demographic data, while the t-test or Wilcoxon test and the Χ2 test were used to verify the statistical difference and association between categorical variables. RESULTS: Overall, 365 employees, including 118 administrative/technical and 247 research/teaching staff, participated in the survey in April 2022 when remote working was mandatory. Among them, 219 (52.8%) were female and 196 (47.2%) were male. In December 2022, 266 employees engaged in voluntary remote working, including 184 (69.2%) women and 82 (30.8%) men, took part in the study. The most represented age group was 50-59 years old (36.3% of study participants). During mandatory remote working, 83.4% of lecturers reported a perceived level of psychological distress ranging from moderate to severe versus 69.5% of technicians. The percentage of self-reported psychological distress was higher among the technicians forced to work from home (n. 118-42.9%) vs. the technicians working from home on a voluntary basis (n. 157-57.1%), with GHQ score being >14 in 65.5% of enforced remote workers vs. 62.3% of voluntary remote workers. During mandatory remote working, there was a significant difference in the GHQ-12 score between administrative and research staff, particularly related to items such as loss of self-confidence, emotional pressures, and diminished productivity. Moreover, from the comparison between the group of administrative staff engaged in mandatory remote working and those in voluntary remote working for specific GHQ-12 items, a statistically significant difference emerged concerning the perception of not being able to overcome difficulties; the GHQ-12 score was higher in the first group. Significant differences in the overall GHQ-12 score were evident between male and female lecturers, as the latter reported higher levels of perceived stress during mandatory remote working. DISCUSSION: The results confirm that remote working could be associated with a better psychological state of administrative university staff, especially in the case of voluntary remote working. During mandatory remote working, a difference was observed between teaching and administrative staff, with higher stress in the first group and among women. Therefore, our sample appears fragmented in the self-assessment of psychological well-being during remote working, possibly due to profound differences in the organization of work activities between lecturers and administrative employees. Additionally, the increased perception of stress by female lecturers compared to males may reflect gender disparities, as women working from home during the pandemic experienced an increased workload including domestic activities. CONCLUSIONS: Remote working is a type of working that has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is undoubtedly a better work-life balance; however, the risks of technostress, workaholism, increased sedentary behaviour, and social isolation are negative aspects. This study provides an indicative overview of the psychological state related to remote working in a university setting during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study might therefore serve as a starting point for further research on the impact of remote working on self-reported psychological well-being, especially in the university environment.

Beyond Work: The Role of "Family-Friendly" Practices in the Subjective Well-Being of Teleworkers and On-Site Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telework emerged as a pivotal strategy to mitigate the spread of the virus. However, telework's feasibility was contingent on job roles. This gave rise to two distinct groups: teleworkers and on-site workers. However, the impacts of social support and well-being extended to both groups. This study investigated the link between organisational and supervisory family support and subjective well-being, examining work engagement as a mediator. Conducted in Portugal, this cross-sectional study surveyed 515 individuals via web-based questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple-group analysis. The findings revealed a positive correlation between perceived organisational family support (POFS) and work engagement for both groups. Additionally, perceived supervisory family support (PSFS) positively correlated with work engagement for telecommuters but not on-site workers. Furthermore, work engagement was positively associated with subjective well-being for both groups. Moreover, work engagement mediated the relationship between POFS and subjective well-being. This study enriches the literature by analysing POFS, PSFS, work engagement, and subjective well-being dynamics among teleworkers and on-site employees.

Comparison of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior between Work in Office and Work From Home: A Self-controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare physical activity levels and sedentary behavior between individuals working in the office and those working from home, with the aim of elucidating the potential implications on employees' health. METHODS: We used triaxial accelerometers to assess the physical activity levels of 94 white-collar employees from a large-scale manufacturing company in Japan. They were instructed to wear the accelerometers during their working hours, which included the commuting time on work-in-office days. RESULTS: The mean energy expenditure on work in office was 426 kcal for individuals, while it was 228 kcal on work from home (P < 0.01). In addition, not including commuting, the time spent sedentary on work-from-home days was higher than that on work-in-office days by 20 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Work from home decreases physical activity and increases sedentary time compared with work in office.

Work from home: Facilitators for an effective ergonomic work system.

Previous studies on Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) have primarily examined the impact of Work-From-Home (WFH) on worker health and well-being, yet little research has examined the optimal implementation process of WFH programs. Work systems perspective suggests that organizational policies, leadership, and psychological factors collectively influence the success of organizational change efforts. Our study explored the roles of managerial/supervisory, psychological, and organizational policy factors in facilitating the relationship between employees' HFE awareness and their acceptance and satisfaction with the WFH arrangement. Using data from 3195 knowledge workers in the US who use computers as their primary work tool and have worked from home at least one day in the past 30 days, we employed structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Transformational HFE leadership and employees' general self-efficacy are pivotal in implementing ergonomic WFH arrangements. The combination of employees' HFE awareness, transformational HFE leadership, and adequate levels of self-efficacy may foster positive process outcomes (e.g., readiness for WFH arrangement, workspace design satisfaction) in WFH arrangements. Efforts that are coordinated across organizational levels determine the effectiveness of organizational change.

The changing dynamics of work from home and its association with sleep disturbance through work-family conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Work from home (WFH) can increase sleep disturbances. However, only few studies have examined the connection between WFH and sleep disturbance while considering work-family conflict (WFC) and the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine the association between WFH and sleep disturbance, considering WFC, and assess how this association changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We used data from the fifth and sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey. WFH workers and a control group were selected using propensity score matching. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs for sleep disturbance in the WFH and control groups. RESULTS: The workers working from home showed significantly higher ORs for sleep disturbance before (4.26; 95% CI, 3.59-5.05) and during (1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.83) the COVID-19 pandemic. When stratified by WFC, the association was significant only in the workers with WFC before COVID-19. However, the association was not significant during COVID-19 among the workers with WFC. CONCLUSIONS: WFH was significantly associated with sleep disturbance among workers before COVID-19, but this association was not observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the significant role that WFC plays in this association, companies should provide a family-friendly WFH environment when adopting WFH practices.

Effectiveness of and preference for a picture-based home office ergonomics assessment compared to a traditional in-person office ergonomics assessment: A case study from a Canadian University during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telework best practices decreased in importance compared to the need for social distancing. It is important that ergonomics assessments for home office workstations are equally as effective as assessment for traditional offices to maintain teleworker wellbeing. The purpose of this case study is to compare a remote, picture-based, home office assessment to a traditional, in-person, office assessment for employees of one Canadian University. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman Analyses (BAAs) revealed that the two methods provide repeatable results, with good agreement. Feedback from the participants suggested that picture-based assessments were as effective as in-person assessments; but that picture-based assessments could be improved with video conferencing to discuss findings and ask follow-up questions. Participants found value in remote assessments and, while they preferred in-person assessments, picture-based assessments are suitable when needed as they allow for many assessments to be completed without violating social distancing restrictions.

[Ergonomics and organization of remote work - health aspect and recommendations for home office organization]. / Ergonomia i organizacja pracy zdalnej ­ aspekt zdrowotny i zalecenia dotyczace organizacji biura domowego.

Analyses of the economic activity of the Polish population indicate that in 2023, about 7% of all employees performed, usually or sometimes, their work in the form of remote work. The purpose of this publication is to analyze the impact of working with screen-monitor devices on computer vision syndromes, musculoskeletal disorders, circadian rhythm, and to identify recommendations for the proper organization of the home office. A narrative review of the existing literature on the impact of work with the use of devices equipped with screen monitors on the health of employees was performed, as well as recommendations in the above-mentioned area were presented. The most important factors determining the load on the visual organs and musculoskeletal system and affecting the overall health and well-being of employees during remote work are the proper arrangement of the workstation (in accordance with ergonomic principles) and the organization of work (limiting the time spent working at the computer/laptop, systematic active breaks) and healthy sleep habits. It is crucial that both employers, occupational health professionals and employees themselves are aware of the importance to their health of correct preparation of the home office, and have adequate knowledge in this regard. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2024;75(1):69-80.

A lightweight and secure protocol for teleworking environment.

The Internet has advanced so quickly that we can now access any service at any time, from any location. As a result of this capability, People around the world can benefit from the popularity and convenience of teleworking systems. Teleworking systems, however, are vulnerable to a range of attacks; as an unauthorized user enters the open communication line and compromises the whole system, that, in turn, creates a big hurdle for the teleworkers. Professional groups have presented numerous mechanisms for the security of teleworking systems to stop any harm, but there are still a lot of security issues like insider, stolen verifier, masquerade, replay, traceability and impersonation threats. In this paper, we propose that one of the security issues with teleworking systems is the lack of a secure authentication mechanism. In order to provide a secure teleworking environment, we have proposed a lightweight and secure protocol to authenticate all the participants and make the requisite services available in an efficient manner. The security analysis of the presented protocol has been investigated formally using the random oracle model (ROM) and ProVerif simulation and informally through illustration/attack discussions. Meanwhile, the performance metrics have been measured by considering computation and communication overheads. Upon comparing the proposed protocol with prior works, it has been demonstrated that our protocol is superior to its competitors. It is suitable for implementation because it achieved a 73% improvement in computation and 34% in communication costs.

Teleworking Effects on Mental Health-A Systematic Review and a Research Agenda.

Teleworking has become an increasingly adopted modality in organizations. However, changes in working conditions have led to several challenges regarding its impacts on professionals' health. The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the literature about the impact of teleworking on workers' mental health. The PRISMA protocol and VOSviewer were used to identify the main trends from the set of 64 articles. The co-occurrence analyzes showed combined relationships between this new type of work and its effects on workers' health, which resulted in four different clusters and a robust knowledge structure. Furthermore, the findings indicate that working from home has a dualistic nature. This study offers a prominent and promising framework regarding the teleworking impact on workers' health research agenda.

How teleworking adoption is changing the labor market and workforce dynamics?

This article investigates how teleworking adoption influenced the labor market and workforce dynamic using bibliometric methods to overview 86 years of teleworking research [1936-2022]. By grouping the retrieved articles available on the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database, we revealed a holistic and topical view of teleworking literature using clustering and visualization techniques. Our results reflect the situation where the adoption of teleworking in the last three years was accelerated by the pandemic and facilitated by innovation in remote work technologies. We discussed the factors influencing one's decision to join the workforce or a specific company, besides the unintended consequences of the rapid adoption of teleworking. The study can aid organizations in developing adequate teleworking arrangements, enhancing employee outcomes, and improving retention rates. Furthermore, it can help policymakers design more effective policies to support employees, improve labor force participation rates, and improve societal well-being.