Telework and Social Services in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper analyses teleworking in social services during the state of alarm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. It has a double objective: To analyse the profile of the professional who teleworked in social services and, on the other hand, to analyse the perception of teleworkers of working conditions during this period, as well as the degree to which they have been affected by them depending on whether they work face-to-face or telematically. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to Spanish social service professionals working, obtaining a sample of 560 professionals in the sector. The profile obtained in relation to teleworking may be especially useful when considering the progressive incorporation of more non-presential activity in social services, and the results show that, although teleworking has been perceived as an efficient way of overcoming the limitations to face-to-face work arising from the pandemic, both the positive and negative consequences of the implementation of this modality of work should be carefully assessed.

Teleworking in Times of COVID-19: Effects on the Acquisition of Personal Resources

“…The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 (an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020 ( World Health Organization, 2020 ), along with the lockdown of large populations, forced numerous organizations to establish teleworking to ensure the health and safety of workers and the maintenance of economic activity ( Belzunegui-Eraso and Erro-Garcés, 2020 ; Bouziri et al, 2020 ; Morilla-Luchena et al, 2021 ). In this sense, the pandemic has extensively generated new forms of work, introducing different degrees of telework (complete telework or hybrid, a part of telework and another part of face-to-face work).…”

From Stationary to Remote: Employee Risks at Pandemic Migration of Workplaces

“…On the contrary to the earlier published papers on pandemic-induced telework that focused on how the limitations at home of first-time remote workers impacted their wellbeing and work-family balance [3,41], our research contributes to a more recent endeavor that focuses the analysis on the work design perspective [43,44]. Many previous findings about remote working may have suffered from a selection bias since it was usually adopted on a voluntary basis.…”

“…Employees have experienced a downturn in their working conditions during the lockdown because teleworking had been adopted forcibly and without any initial preparation whatsoever. Another study carried out among Spanish social workers who were forced to telework during the first wave of COVID-19 also found a greater degree of overloading of professionals who telework, since they experienced, to a greater extent than workers who were present, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the situation [41]. Unless organizations make an extra effort to convince employees of the advantages of telework and support them to develop friendly working conditions at home, that bleak vision of the future could become a crude reality.…”

Teletrabajo y dolor musculoesquelético en el contexto de la crisis por COVID-19

“…Finalmente, el teletrabajo es una forma eficaz de superar las limitaciones del trabajo presencial generadas por la pandemia, el cual puede producir efectos positivos como negativos al momento de la implementación de esta modalidad de trabajo. Existe la posibilidad de que no solo se vea afectada la salud mental sino también la salud física (10) . La predisposición a tener algún tipo lesiones musculoesqueléticas en la espalda a causa de la adopción de posturas inadecuadas al momento de realizar este tipo de actividad laboral, puede conllevar a una discapacidad física.…”