Gli smart workers tra solitudine e collaborazione

Out of Sight, Out of Mind? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working and Burnout in the Context of the Job Demands–Resources Model during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…More broadly, the research in the field has focused on four main areas that explore different-albeit intertwined-aspects of smart working [7], namely, psychological control and autonomy, work intensification, work-life balance, as well as social and professional isolation. The first area concerns whether smart working provides workers with more autonomy in their work or if, by incorporating features, such as the use of ICTs, it increases managers' control over employees and work processes [7,13]. Previous research has shown conflicting results.…”

“…The aforementioned issue is closely related to the third research area, which is about work-life interference, in terms of both work-family conflict and family-work conflict. On the one hand, the opportunity to work anywhere and anytime generates the expectation, in colleagues at headquarters and in management, of being constantly connected and reachable, with negative consequences in terms of work-family conflict [7]. The expectation of immediate availability related to the use of ICTs undermines one of the most emphasized advantages of smart working-that is, the possibility to conciliate work and private life.…”

“…The expectation of immediate availability related to the use of ICTs undermines one of the most emphasized advantages of smart working-that is, the possibility to conciliate work and private life. On the other hand, given their temporal flexibility, smart workers receive more requests from family members that would not be made in the presence of more defined working hours [7], thus resulting in greater family-work conflict. Again, the findings concerning the relationship between smart working and the work-family interference are mixed [3].…”

“…Previous studies showed that remote workers may experience feelings of social and professional isolation [27,28]. In fact, some authors proposed that virtual connections would not be able to compensate for the reduction in social contacts, in terms of face-to-face interactions and social proximity with colleagues and supervisors, which may lead to social isolation [7]. The frequency of remote working seems to affect the association between remote working and working relationships [4].…”

“…In the pre-pandemic era, an ever-increasing number of workers around the world were joining different smart-working programs that organizations, both public and private, defined in line with the regulatory framework of their respective countries [7]. Since then, the current COVID-19 pandemic has produced a sharp acceleration in this trend, as smart working has become a widely used practice to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (e.g., by reducing physical proximity and social interactions) [8].…”