The legal framework of teleworking in local governments

The spread of teleworking, both in private companies and in the public administration, is one of the consequences of the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, teleworking is not really a new mode of carrying out public services. It was already a decade ago when teleworking was initially regulated in Spain and, since then, it is linked to the development of digital technologies in public administrations. In 2020 new basic state legislation on teleworking was passed for civil servants. This legislation was developed by regional and local regulations and agreements. This article presents a summary of the current legal framework on the matter. © 2022, Fundacion Democracia y Gobierno Local. All rights reserved.

WORK FROM HOME AND EMPLOYEES' PERFORMANCE DURING COVID19 OUTBREAK: ROLE OF TIME AND COMMUNICATION CULTURES

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of telecommuting on "In Role Performance (IRP) and Extra Role Performance (ERP) of employees" and the research has also examined the moderating effect of "Polychronic Time Culture (PTC) vs Monochronic Time Culture MTC" and "High Context Culture (HCC) vs low context culture (LCC) on the relationship between teleworking and IRP and ERP, whether these factors moderate the relationship or not. The quantitative approach is used for this study. Data is collected through the online survey method, where 312 teleworkers of the telecommunication sector respond to the questionnaire. The collected information is tested using SPSS and AMOS by using confirmative factor analysis and structural equation modelling. This study's findings show that teleworking had a significant impact on the IRP and ERP of employees. Time cultures also had a significant moderating impact on the relationship between teleworking and In-role performance and employees' extra-role performance. In contrast, HCC vs LCC had an insignificant moderating impact on the relationship between teleworking and IRP of the employees, and it significantly influences the ERP of employees. This research has been conducted only in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, this research focused only on two dimensions of Hall's cultural model;future research can use the national cultural model's other dimensions. This study gives several insights into how employees and organizations can be encouraged to work from home according to the organisation's standards. It also enables the organization to motivate employees to EERP while working from home.

Exploring Employee Well-Being during the COVID-19 Remote Work: Evidence from South Africa

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated a shift to remote working for previously office-based employees in South Africa, impacting employee outcomes such as well-being. The remote work trend is expected to continue even post the pandemic, necessitating for organizational understanding of the factors impacting employee well-being. Using the Job Demands-Resources model as the theoretical framework, this study aims to understand the role of job demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being in the pandemic context. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered online survey questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data about remote workers' (n = 204) perceptions of specifically identified demands, resources and employee well-being. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation and moderated hierarchical regression were used to analyse the data. Findings: This study found that job demands in the form of work-home conflict were associated with reduced employee well-being. Resources, namely, job autonomy, effective communication and social support were associated with increased employee well-being. Job autonomy was positively correlated to remote work frequency, and gender had a significant positive association to work-home conflict. Social support was found to moderate the relationship between work-home conflict and employee well-being. Findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. This study advances knowledge on the role of demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being of remote workforces during COVID-19 and beyond. Originality/value: This paper provides insight on employee well-being during COVID-19 remote work. Further, the findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study carried out to explore the employee well-being during COVID-19 pandemic and will be beneficial to stakeholders for understanding the factors impacting employee well-being.

Teleworking in the Public Administration: a model for the public sector vis-à-vis the regulation of the private sector

The article analyzes the regulation of teleworking and remote work for the personnel of Public Administrations, regulated by Law 10/2021, of July 9, on remote work. The article highlights the shared and none-shared factors with the regulation of teleworking for workers in the private sector, regulated by Royal Decree-Law 29/2020, of September 29, on urgent measures regarding teleworking in public administrations and human resources in the National Health System for facing the COVID-19 crisis. The Royal Decree-Law only modified the consolidated text of the Law on the Basic Statute of Public Employees, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of October 30 (TREBEP). The comparison of both regulations reveals that public regulation presents a wider scope than the regulation of art. 47 bis TREBEP. © 2022, Fundacion Democracia y Gobierno Local. All rights reserved.

INVESTIGATING THE CHANGE IN PREFERENCE OF LIVING AND TRANSPORT DURING COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic meant that people had to perform most of their daily activities from home. This study intends to investigate if a period of working from home has changed living preferences concerning housing size and location. The data was collected through a web-based survey. The literature is divided regarding the potential benefits of reduced commuting due to increased home office utilization. There is a prevalent risk of rebound effects as saved travel time might lead to increased travel on leisure, which could counterweight the benefits of reduced daily commuting in cities. Most of the respondents in this study want to work from home 2–3 days a week. The respondents that desire to move to a less central location state the lower square meter price as one important reason. Analyses in prevailing research did not investigate the preference for larger homes combined with increased home office use. Future studies should also investigate the desire for larger homes to achieve a holistic evaluation of the emissions related to telecommuting. © 2022 The Author(s). Licensed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence.

How Digitalization, Work-Family Balance, and Work Efficiency Can Influence Employees' Preferences for Teleworking in the Future

During Covid-19 pandemic many employees found themselves in the new position of teleworkers. Proof of the last years, teleworking remains an alternative to the classic system, reason why in this paper we aim to examine, based on an online questionnaire, the perceptions of Romanian employees about the very complex aspects that teleworking involves: the new ICT tools and technologies adoption, impact on work efficiency, work-family balance, and employees physical and mental health. The paper is based on an empirical analysis of data, and the authors have used as research methods: testing the independence of groups (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis) and the correlation between variables, categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) and logistic regression model. Our findings show that several factors, such as flexible working hours, family time, and autonomy have a positive influence on the decision to telework, while IT security risks, interruptions and virtual meetings were not perceived by respondents as negatively influencing their decision to telework. However, the consequences for mental health, such as mental stress, lack of socialisation and the difficulty of separating working time from family time, lead respondents to prefer another working system. The implications of the research are relevant for policy makers, employers, and employees as they reveal which categories of employees are more likely to telework and why.

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

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

Work fatigue during COVID-19 lockdown teleworking: the role of psychosocial, environmental, and social working conditions.

Background: During national lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, previously office-based workers who transitioned to home-based teleworking faced additional demands (e.g., childcare, inadequate homeworking spaces) likely resulting in poor work privacy fit. Previous office research suggests poor work privacy fit is associated with lower wellbeing and higher work fatigue. Emerging evidence suggests a relationship between childcare duties during pandemic teleworking and work fatigue. In addition to psychosocial working conditions (job demand, job control, and job change management), which are acknowledged predictors of work fatigue, this poses a significant threat to occupational health during pandemic teleworking. However, the relative effects of aspects of the psychosocial environment (job demands and resources), the home office environment (including privacy fit), and the social environment (childcare) on work fatigue as well as their interactions are under-explored. Objective: This study examined the relationships between the psychosocial, environmental, and social working conditions of teleworking during the first COVID-19 lockdown and work fatigue. Specifically, the study examined teleworkers' physical work environment (e.g., if and how home office space is shared, crowding, and noise perceptions) as predictors of privacy fit and the relationship between privacy fit, childcare, psychosocial working conditions (job demand, job control, and job change management), and work fatigue. Work privacy fit was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between childcare and work fatigue. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted with teleworkers (n = 300) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in April and May 2020; most participants were in Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Results: Path analysis was used to examine the hypothesized relationships. Privacy fit was lower for those reporting greater levels of noise in home-working spaces and those feeling crowded at home. Work fatigue was lower amongst those with greater privacy fit and higher amongst those with high levels of job demand. An indirect relationship was observed between childcare and work fatigue with privacy fit mediating this relationship. Conclusion: The influence of privacy fit has so far been largely neglected in research on teleworking, especially during the pandemic. However, its contribution to workers' wellbeing should be acknowledged in occupational health strategies.

Teleworking and housing demand.

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

Psychological Well-Being: An Empirical Study of Indian Industry on Work-Life Integration During Covid 19

Minimizing the effects of COVID-19 is one of the world's highest priorities, and India is taking essential measures to curb the outbreak. Many businesses promoted social distancing through the announcement of compulsory work-from-home. In this backdrop, Remote Work has become a significant model mainly to retain talent and attrition. The present study analyses whether work-life integration and work-life satisfaction are related to psychological well-being. Research hypotheses are formulated based on the investigation of the literature review. This data was collected in India during July and October 2020 while the Covid pandemic was coming down to normal. The survey was aimed at people who work in Indian-based companies. Workers received an electronic version of the questionnaire, and organizations received e-mail requests. The decision was made to use the comfort sampling method. During the pandemic, a sample of 400 employees from the Information Technology industry in the cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore, India. Work-Life integration leading to Psychological Well-being were analyzed considering the role of work-life satisfaction as a mediator. This research focuses on job and life satisfaction, showing the mechanisms that help workers in remote working conditions stay mentally healthy during a pandemic. This mediation study revealed that Work-life satisfaction has an optimistic and robust relationship with psychological health, with this relationship being influenced by work satisfaction and life satisfaction among the Indian IT companies surveyed. These studies' findings suggest that a successful workfrom-home community is built on a foundation of work-life integration based on contentment. The research findings are that positive work-life integration contributes to employees' positive levels of psychological well-being. We found that the higher the job and life satisfaction, the better the psychological well-being. Since the current study is a cross-sectional analysis, there are some restrictions on how long the investigation can last. Longitudinal research should be conducted to improve the results of the studies.

When and why workplace cyberbullying influences intention to stay: role of workplace social capital and affective commitment

Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of home-based teleworking globally. Coupled with this, there are rising concerns about workplace cyberbullying. However, less studies have explored workplace cyberbullying in non-western countries. The purpose of the current study is to examine whether workplace cyberbullying affects employees' intention to stay and to find out the mechanisms underlying the relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected among Indian home-based teleworkers. Data were analysed using SmartPLS and SPSS-PROCESS macro. Findings: Results show that workplace cyberbullying negatively impacts intention to stay and affective commitment acts as a mediator between this link. The results also reveal that workplace social capital moderates the negative effects of workplace cyberbullying on affective commitment. The results further confirm that workplace social capital moderated the indirect impact of workplace cyberbullying on intention to stay via affective commitment. Practical implications: This study highlights the potential of leveraging workplace social capital in order to reduce the negative effects of workplace cyberbullying. Originality/value: These findings can complement the previous studies on the impact of negative work events on affective commitment and intention to stay as well as extend researchers' understanding of the underlying mechanism between workplace cyberbullying and intention to stay. Furthermore, this research explains how employees can utilise social resources from workplace social capital to mitigate the negative outcomes of workplace cyberbullying. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The Booming Growth of Coworking Spaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey

The rise of teleworking and coworking has been remarkable in Turkey, especially in the last decade. Nevertheless, the country has experienced a boom in coworking spaces (CSs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of CSs has increased dramatically from 71 in 2020 to 162 in 2022;therefore, the increase is more than doubled. This chapter investigates the reasons behind this dramatic increase, the rising demand for CSs, and the response of CSs to the implications of COVID-19. The narratives in this chapter highlight the changing demands of coworkers, the challenges that CSs face, and new coworking concepts that have emerged. © 2023, The Author(s).

Evolution of teleworking and urban mobility changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic across European Cities

Work-related travel is one of the primary travel purposes for citizens (Eurostat, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic triggered significant changes in lifestyles and mobility that may persist in the long term. Teleworking and online shopping are much more widely adopted than before the pandemic crisis, while active mobility modes have gained a considerable share of urban transport activity. Restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that several activities developed within the city can be done by ICT tools, such as working from home or shopping online, among others. Those tools can be used to avoid -potentially-unnecessary trips and consequently reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. This work aims to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the adoption of teleworking and how mobility behaviour has changed during the pandemic. It also explores the factors that may affect mobility changes, their long-term effects and potential repercussion on GHG emissions. To do so, we use an extensive survey carried out in 20 European cities across 11 Member States, applying statistical inference analysis among different categories of variables focusing on active workers. Results show that teleworking has grown significantly during the pandemic, both in the number of users and in the frequency of use. The change in mobility patterns has been significant and might serve as a lever for change towards a more sustainable mobility, but also for the worse if the right decisions are not made consequently. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

Teleworking and the Importance of Information Systems in a Pandemic Context: A Study Applied to the Health Sector

The pandemic crisis compelled organizations to adopt telework to continue their activity. This study seeks to determine the perception of individuals regarding teleworking, and also the role of Information Systems in the paradigm shift along the pandemic period, in the Portuguese health sector. An online questionnaire was applied to health professionals working in Portugal, obtaining a sample of 264 professionals. The perceptions identified in relation to telework can be especially useful when considering the progressive incorporation of non-face-to-face activities in the health sector. Participants identify advantages in teleworking, namely in reducing travel costs, but also identify work overload as a disadvantage. Despite the difficulties, Information Systems are identified as facilitators in this process of change. Most participants express availability to work in a mixed regime, in the post-pandemic period. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.

Teachers' teleworking job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

This research takes insights from the job demand resource model to examine the teleworking job satisfaction of teachers for the period of COVID-19 pandemic. This study evidenced that teachers' satisfaction with teleworking has been reduced as a consequence of the job demand increase. In contrast, access to adequate resources has allowed them to confront the challenges of teleworking, thus increasing their job satisfaction. The adverse effect of job demands on teleworking job satisfaction is buffered by job resources as teachers' required extra means to confront unexpected and increased job demands. The technological gap between younger and older teachers was uncovered.

Telecommuting and COVID-19: how has the pandemic changed workers' perception on physical and mental health?

Due to the current pandemic situation, work from home, or telecommuting, has been implemented as part of public health measures to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Although this measure was introduced rapidly, it is likely to remain in effect for some time to prevent further outbreaks of COVID-19. Despite being few, various studies have addressed the relationship between telecommuting and workers' health in the context of the current pandemic. Some aspects observed include fatigue, dietary changes, reduced levels of physical activity, and pain. Other conditions observed are associated with "techno-stress," namely work overload, invasion of privacy, pace of information technology changes, decreased job autonomy, emotional exhaustion, and being constantly in electronic contact with work. Generally speaking, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new environment for considering work and family life within the discussion on telecommuting. Likewise, a contextualized understanding of factors related to physical and mental well-being is essential to ensure positive impacts on workers. It is important to develop studies and discussions within organizations that allow knowing, analyzing and reformulating strategies and policies aimed at aspects such as changes in workers' physical and mental well-being in the pandemic context and the way how occupational environments at home affect these components.

Debido a la situación actual de la pandemia, el trabajo en casa, o home office, se ha implementado como parte de las medidas de salud pública para prevenir la propagación del SARS-CoV-2. Aunque esta medida se introdujo rápidamente, es probable que permanezca en vigor durante algún tiempo para evitar nuevos brotes de la COVID-19. A pesar de ser pocos, diversos estudios han abordado la relación entre el home office y la salud de los trabajadores en el contexto de la pandemia actual. Algunos aspectos observados incluyen fatiga, alteraciones en la dieta, reducción de la actividad física y dolor. Otras condiciones observadas se encuentran asociadas con el tecnoestrés, a saber: sobrecarga de trabajo, invasión de la privacidad, ritmo del cambio de las tecnologías de la información, menor autonomía laboral, agotamiento emocional y contacto electrónico constante con el trabajo. En términos generales, la pandemia de COVID-19 ha creado un nuevo entorno para considerar la vida laboral y familiar dentro de la discusión del home office. Así mismo, realizar una lectura en contexto de los factores que se relacionan con el bienestar físico y mental es fundamental para garantizar impactos positivos en los trabajadores. Es importante realizar estudios y discusiones al interior de las organizaciones que permitan conocer, analizar y reformular estrategias y políticas orientadas a aspectos como las alteraciones en el bienestar físico y mental de los trabajadores en el contexto de la pandemia y la forma en que los entornos ocupacionales en el hogar afectan estos componentes.

Home × office or home and office: importance of breaks at work.

The COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as a rite of passage where individuals are being called upon to rethink the dictatorship of the way-of-being through work. With the intensification of the work from home modality, many essential aspects of life became secondary. This way, it is important to think about work breaks, not only from the viewpoint of labor laws, but also for creating moments of reflection for (re)thinking various aspects of work, whether remote or in person. The objective of this study was to promote a reflection on the importance of taking breaks during remote work (working from home) or in-person work, considering the promotion of occupational health and well-being. Breaks during the workday are beneficial to physical and mental health, as they help restore concentration and energy, relieve stress, improve muscle tension, among other factors. Strategies for promoting work breaks cannot be prescribed as recipes but should be considered as possibilities to exercise these moments of disconnection from work on a daily basis. Moreover, the worker can also contribute to improve the quality of working life by adopting simple attitudes such as maintaining adequate hydration and using practices such as foot soaks, meditation, yoga, self-massage, foot reflexology, and mindfulness in the work environment. Therefore, in order for strategies for the promotion of health and occupational well-being to be successful, we need a change in the behavior of managers and workers in order to better reconcile our way-of-being through work and our way-of-being through care.

A pandemia da COVID-19 pode ser vista como um rito de passagem em que os indivíduos estão sendo convocados a repensar a ditadura do modo-de-ser trabalho. Com a intensificação da modalidade do home office, vários aspectos essenciais da vida ficaram em segundo plano. Assim, é importante pensar acerca da pausa laboral, não só a partir da legislação trabalhista, mas também criando momentos de reflexão para (re) pensar vários aspectos do trabalho, seja remoto ou presencial. O objetivo deste artigo foi promover uma reflexão acerca da importância da pausa no trabalho remoto (home office) ou presencial, tendo em vista a promoção da saúde e o bem-estar ocupacional. As pausas durante a jornada de trabalho trazem benefícios para a saúde física e mental, pois ajudam a restaurar a concentração, revigorar as energias, aliviar o estresse, melhorar as tensões musculares, entre outros. As estratégias para promover a pausa no trabalho não podem ser prescritas como receitas, mas esses momentos de desconexão com o trabalho devem ser considerados como possibilidades de se exercitar cotidianamente. Além disso, o trabalhador também pode contribuir para melhorar a qualidade de vida no trabalho ao adotar atitudes simples como manter uma hidratação adequada e utilizar práticas como escalda-pés, meditação, ioga, automassagem, reflexologia podal e mindfulness no ambiente laboral. Portanto, para que as estratégias de promoção à saúde e de bem-estar ocupacional obtenham sucesso, é necessário que haja uma mudança de comportamento de gestores e trabalhadores a fim de conciliar melhor nosso modo-de-ser trabalho e nosso modo-de-ser cuidado.

Dynamics of Teleworking and Impact on Stakeholders in the Current Pandemic Context

The exponential development of information and communication technology (ICT) through computer networks, Wi-Fi systems, wireless signals, and information storage systems has contributed to the transition to the so-called new economy, which is becoming increasingly digital and global. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking has begun to dramatically change the work dynamics for all stakeholders. The aim of this research was to identify the main impacting factors and their level of influence in relation to the macroeconomic context of teleworking, public policies, and the legal framework regarding quality of life, as well as the effects of teleworking on employees and employers. Through empirical research, we explored the perspectives of employees and employers as main stakeholders who had operated in the teleworking field within Suceava County in Romania during 2020. In this regard, we undertook exploratory research, the results of which were processed using SPSS v.20. The insightful results have practical implications for the labor market, where an obvious increase in the share of teleworking in the total forms of work has already occurred, and the relations between employer and employee are expected to become based more and more on cooperation and less on subordination. The results also revealed an important tendency of employees to appreciate the positive effects of teleworking on other aspects of life.

The COVID-19 shock on the labour market: poverty and inequality effects across Spanish regions

The necessary social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 during the recent pandemic implies that regions with higher essentiality and teleworking levels have lower vulnerability to poverty and inequality, the opposite occurring in regions intensive in closed activities. Using the latest 2020 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, we estimate that in the absence of compensating measures, this shock can result in sizable but unequal increases in poverty (between 8.3 and 20.7 percentage points (p.p.)) and wage inequality (between 2.6 and 6.0 Gini points) across Spanish regions. Moreover, inequality between regions can rise, which would erode regional cohesion in Spain.

The Rapidly Evolving Situation of Employee Work-From-Home Productivity and The Integration of ICT in Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

The study objective explored the changing nature of COVID-19′s emergence on work-from-home productivity in South Africa. Studies show that the formerly coveted, highly attractive work-from-home (WFH) did not show to be one of the best solutions for most employees. The study contributes to the adoption and integration of innovative technologies in the area of information communication technologies (ICT), to improve employees' productivity at the workplace as work from home (WFH). However, WFH is still popular, but not in its current form. The study suggested that better government rules and regulations should be in place to properly regulate and make WFH practicable for all employees in South Africa. The study adopted a survey method for data collection through a structured questionnaire that was administered to selected participants. The study also reviews available literature on the topic under investigation while relying on secondary data as sources of information and analyzing them based on content. The study applied the Trust-Based Working Theory. The study finds that the decision to cease in-person meetings and work was made quickly upon the arrival of COVID-19 but without any instructions on how to do so. It was recommended that the guidance on adjusting to distant online work is one area of policy where preparation and execution are very necessary.