Procrastination involves voluntarily or habitually delaying unpleasant tasks for later. It is characterized by short-term benefits and long-term costs. The COVID-19 pandemic set specific circumstances that may have influenced procrastination behavior. This scoping review identified the existing peer-reviewed literature in English or Spanish about procrastination during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020 to April 2021) in six electronic databases. To conduct the review, a five-step methodological framework, as well as established PRISMA guidelines, was followed. A total of 101 articles were found. After removing duplicates and reviewing the articles, only 13 were included in the review. Findings indicate that procrastination was studied mostly in academic contexts in various parts of the globe. Procrastination behavior was related to anxiety, distress, time management, self-control, and other variables. There is limited information about interventions to prevent or decrease procrastinating behaviors in the context of confinement or in the living conditions generated by the pandemic. Future research should consider how procrastination evolved during the pandemic using longitudinal methodologies. Individual differences related to procrastination also should be identified, and the evaluation of the efficacy of existing interventions is still needed. This information might help in the creation of appropriate interventions that target detrimental procrastination behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to adopt different work modalities to ensure their operation during this period. In this study, we described and compared working conditions and perceptions among face-to-face workers, teleworkers, and hybrid workers in Ecuador. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 542 participants, using a self-report survey to assess sociodemographic data, working conditions, and workers’ perceptions. Variables were described and then compared by the Chi-square test, ANOVA, and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The results indicated a higher proportion of on-site workers without higher education and in the public sector compared to the other modalities. At the same time, there was evidence of increased perceived productivity. People in the hybrid modality tended to have more than one job, earning a higher monthly salary, perceiving a decrease in productivity, an increase in daily working hours, and a lower capacity for time management. In addition, most teleworkers reported fair working conditions, a dedicated workspace, and easy adaptation to this work mode. This study builds a more in-depth understanding of how workers perceived their working conditions among work modalities for organizational decision-making because the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic is modifying the ways of working permanently.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus became a global health threat affecting people’s mental and physical health, as well as working conditions and modalities. The reorganization of the work environment also affected work engagement and psychological distress levels. This manuscript assesses how work engagement and distress vary according to gender and age across three working modalities. We used a voluntary response sampling strategy to collect data on psychological distress and work engagement between August 2021 and January 2022. Results are from 542 people working in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, participants experienced psychological distress; women and younger participants presented higher psychological distress. Regarding engagement, the sample showed average levels of total engagement, average levels of vigor, and high levels of dedication and absorption. Men presented higher levels of total work engagement and vigor. Psychological distress was significantly and negatively correlated with total work engagement scores and its three factors. There were no differences in work engagement according to the different modalities. However, teleworkers reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress than hybrid workers. Findings are discussed considering ideas for decision-makers to explore the benefits of flexible working practices.