‘Living at work’: COVID-19, remote-working and the spatio-relational reorganisation of professional services in UK universities

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the source of large-scale disruption to the work practices of university staff, across the UK and globally. This article reports the experiences of n = 4731 professional services staff (PSS) working in UK universities and their experiences of pandemic-related work disruption. It specifically focuses on a transition to remote-working as a consequence of social restrictions and campus closures, presenting both quantitative and qualitative findings that speak to the various spatio-relational impacts of PSS working at distance from university campuses. These survey findings contribute to a new narrative of work organisation in higher education which addresses the potential of remote-working as a means for boundary crossing, social connectedness and trust relationships in universities in the immediate context and strongly anticipated post-pandemic future.

Fractured academic space: digital literacy and the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Research that specifically examines the impact of COVID-19 on higher education explores how workers have adjusted to the COVID-19 workplace, including professional services staff (e.g., Watermeyer et al, 2022), learning technologists (Watermeyer et al, 2021) and academics (Karatuna et al, 2022;Kennedy, Oliver & Littlejohn, 2022;McGaughey et al, 2021;Rode, Kennedy & Littlejohn, 2022;Stadtlander & Sickel, 2021). Almost universally noting increased workloads, these studies nonetheless tend to focus on cultural and organisational change rather than how information practices have adjusted through the shift to online and hybrid employment.…”

“…Almost universally noting increased workloads, these studies nonetheless tend to focus on cultural and organisational change rather than how information practices have adjusted through the shift to online and hybrid employment. An exception is Watermeyer et al (2022b), whose study of academics notes that remote working resulted in a more formalised information environment, including less "fun" interactions with colleagues and a decline in "spontaneous and unscripted work". Notwithstanding, professional services staff, who have historically been denied the opportunity for remote working, also stated that working from home led to a sense of being "more informed", both because of transformations in meeting management and opportunities for reflection (Watermeyer et al, 2022b).…”

“…Shifting from informal to instrumental information. A notable outcome of the shift to pandemic working is the increased formalisation of the workplace, which is represented by the jump that all participants note in the number of online meetings between colleagues and co-workers (also noted by Watermeyer et al (2022b)). Whilst these meetings permit the dissemination and sharing of information, the platforms that tend to be used in higher education, including Zoom and Microsoft Teams, create a very formal structure for these interactions.…”

“…Research that specifically examines the impact of COVID-19 on higher education explores how workers have adjusted to the COVID-19 workplace, including professional services staff (e.g. Watermeyer et al. , 2022b), learning technologists (Watermeyer et al.…”

The Well-Being of the Academic Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Generally, this unique situation has had a negative impact on the operation of university faculties, staff and students in terms of health-related behaviour, as well as mental and physical health (Grubic et al, 2020;Husky et al, 2020;Wang and Zhao, 2020;Al Miskry et al . 2021;Watermeyer et al ., 2022) .…”