To work at home or in the office? Well-being, information flow and relationships between office workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to compare employee well-being, information flow and relationships with co-workers and supervisors for people working at home and working in different office types before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A nationwide study of 2,845 Estonian office workers in autumn 2019 and 2,972 in spring 2020 was carried out. Findings It was discovered that in normal circumstances, people at home had similar results to those in a cell office or activity-based office. Open-plan offices were found to be the worst in respect to the facets of work studied. However, in the context of the pandemic, the playing field became more level in some respects and worse in the case of activity-based offices. Practical implications When telework is well arranged both in terms of facilities and organising the necessary communication and information flow, then it is a viable alternative to working in an office. What is more, employers need to pay more attention to the physical and social work conditions in open-plan offices and also activity-based offices in the context of a pandemic. Originality/value Previous studies have only compared telework with working in an office in general. Comparing working at home with different kinds of offices gives valuable insights.

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

“…(2022) note that new employees were forced to mediate various information-related challenges as part of this process, including figuring out workplace relationships and (un)acceptable behaviours. In contrast, the established workers in Aidla et al . 's (2022) study of office life stated that they felt just as informed about the workplace as before the pandemic.…”

“…The impact of COVID-19 on working practices has become a topic of research including the initial shift to remote working (e.g. Adisa et al, 2021;Aidla et al, 2022;Delfino and Van der Kolk, 2021;Nicol et al, 2022), on-boarding and socialisation periods of new employees during this time (e.g. Woo et al, 2022;Willson et al, 2022) and ongoing considerations related to the return to in-person working (e.g.…”

“…Adisa et al. , 2021; Aidla et al ., 2022; Delfino and Van der Kolk, 2021; Nicol et al ., 2022), on-boarding and socialisation periods of new employees during this time (e.g. Woo et al ., 2022; Willson et al ., 2022) and ongoing considerations related to the return to in-person working (e.g.…”

O impacto da pandemia nas relações de trabalho e as estratégias empresariais para o teletrabalho

“…A pandemia do novo coronavírus teve um impacto significativo nas relações de trabalho em todo o mundo. Nota-se que o trabalho remoto se tornou uma prática comum em muitas empresas (RAIŠIENĖ et al, 2023;HERRERA et al, 2022;CHAKRABORTY;BHATTACHARYA, 2022;AHMED;QAMAR;SOOMRO, 2022;CAMACHO et al, 2022;DHANPAT et al, 2022;AIDLA et al, 2022;FIGUEIRA;COSTA, 2022;LABRECQUE et al, 2022). Além disso, houve uma mudança na percepção dos empregadores em relação ao teletrabalho, que passou a ser visto como uma opção viável e eficiente para manter a produtividade dos funcionários durante a crise sanitária (HAIDER; ANWAR, 2023;KADAR;REICHER, 2020;MARSTON et al, 2023).…”

“…Em complemento, observa-se que as mudanças na rotina e na dinâmica de trabalho, além de impactar na comunicação e colaboração entre as equipes, propiciaram alterações na cultura organizacional (AIDLA et al, 2022;TANPIPAT;LIM;DENG, 2021), com uma maior valorização da empatia, da flexibilidade e da resiliência (LEE, 2021), de modo que muitas empresas ampliaram a solidariedade em relação aos colaboradores e à sociedade como um todo (BOLISANI et al, 2020). Além disso, a confiança entre os colaboradores e a empresa se tornou um elemento crucial para o sucesso do trabalho remoto, uma vez que a distância física pode gerar desconfiança e dificultar a comunicação (LIS; PTAK; LIS, 2021).…”