scholarly journals Suddenly Telework: Job Crafting as a Way to Promote Employee Well-Being?

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane R. Stempel ◽  
Katja Siestrup

COVID-19 confronted many people with an abrupt shift from their usual working environment to telework. This study explores which job characteristics are perceived as most crucial in this exceptional situation and how they differ from people’s previous working conditions. Additionally, we focus on job crafting as a response to this situation and how it is related to employees’ well-being. We conducted an online survey with N = 599 participants, of which 321 reported that they were telework newcomers. First, we asked participants to indicate the three most important advantages and disadvantages they see in telework. The subsequent questionnaire contained a comprehensive measure of working conditions before and during the pandemic, job crafting behaviors, and indicators of well-being. Based on the qualitative answers, we identified three major advantages and disadvantages. Quantitative results indicate perceived changes in all job characteristics for telework newcomers. Concerning working conditions and well-being, job crafting activities that aim to increase structural and social resources are important mediators. The findings underline the need to design appropriate telework conditions and encourage job crafting activities to foster occupational well-being.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-185
Author(s):  
Susanti Saragih ◽  
Meily Margaretha ◽  
Luthfia Anantyanda

Workplace stressed employees’ well-being because people have to work from home (WFH) and adapt to a new routine of work and life since Covid-19 struck the world. Employees who WFH increase their perception of more autonomous on how to handle their tasks, this is known as job autonomy. This study aimed to examine the relationship between job autonomy and well-being, and the mediating effects of job crafting on job autonomy and employees’ well-being during WFH in Covid-19 Pandemic. An online survey was conducted and there were 427 respondents involved. The model was analyzed using WarpPLS 7.0 and the results showed that no significant relationship was found between job autonomy and well-being. Moreover, job autonomy and job crafting are related as well as job crafting and well-being. Job crafting significantly mediate the relationship between job autonomy and well-being. This study showed that during WFH, employee experience an excessive degree of job freedom and it give them more work pressure and decrease employees' subjective well-being.  In a conclusion, this study brings several concerns that organizations should be giving attention to.


Author(s):  
Ravit Alfandari

This chapter presents a qualitative study that was conducted to investigate the implementation and outcomes of recent child protection reform in Israel. Using the ‘systems approach’ as conceptual framework allowed to understand the impact of the working conditions on every-day child protection practices. The key finding of the research – that the reform’s aims of strengthening practice and improving the safety and well-being of vulnerable children have not been entirely achieved – is explained by the organisational working environment and culture acting as barriers to the expected change. Findings touch on in particular: heavy workloads and an organisational culture that seeks opportunities to shortcut procedures and processes; inadequate professional supervision and support; insufficient training and qualifications; and lack of strong organisational leadership. It is concluded that organisations’ underlying problems need to be resolved if effective delivery of services for children and families is to be achieved.


Author(s):  
Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir ◽  
Alessio Degl’Innocenti ◽  
Linda Åhlström ◽  
Caterina Finizia ◽  
Helle Wijk ◽  
...  

Background. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workload, mental health, and well-being of healthcare workers, and particularly those on the front-line, has received considerable attention.Design and methods. We surveyed hospital employees about their working environment during the pandemic and identified departments which were negatively affected in comparison to the pre-pandemic situation, as well as factors contributing to this.Setting and participants We surveyed all hospital employees at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden in September 2020 and compared results across departments and to the results of a large employee survey from October 2019.Results. The overall impact of the pandemic on perceived working conditions and possibility for recovery differed among departments. During the pandemic, healthcare workers working with COVID-19 patients reported poorer working environments than other employees. Factors significantly related to perception of work environment and recovery during the pandemic included worries of being infected, departmental transfer, and having insufficient access to personal protective equipment. Men reported better working conditions than women in all, but one item and higher age was related to better perceived working environment.Conclusions. Our results indicate that the pandemic differentially affects hospital departments and underscores the multifactorial nature of this topic. Contributing factors to poor perceived working environment could be addressed at times of high workload, such as during the pandemic, including providing appropriate support to managers, ensuring possibility for recovery during working hours, and acknowledging worries about infection. Young healthcare workers and staff who are relocated due to the pandemic warrant special attention.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MSc. Lana Lučić ◽  
Dr. Sc. Tihana Brkljačić ◽  
Dr. Sc. Ljiljana Kaliterna Lipovčan

The aim of this report was to analyse positive and negative aspects of online administration of longitudinal well-being survey and to provide suggestions and guidelines for future research. The aim of CRO-WELL (Croatian Longitudinal Well-being Study) research was to follow well-being indicators longitudinally, on a large sample (N>5 000).For the purpose of the research we developed online platform with integrated questionnaire to assess various variables related to well-being. Participants could assess the application via various browsers, and it was also adjusted for smart phones.  “Friendly use” of the online application, understanding of questions and answering method, as well as ethical concerns, was tested using focus groups and individual trials. To enable matching the participants from two waves, every participant had to log in to the web page using his/her e-mail address. While e-mail address was protected by data-base, special computer-programme created token associated with each participant. A year after completing the initial questionnaire, participants were automatically invited to complete the follow-up. This paper brings review of designing and conducting a longitudinal research having in mind advantages and disadvantages of online survey.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-286
Author(s):  
Renátó Balogh ◽  
Éva Bácsné Bába

AbstractDue to recent changes in the labour market, recruitment and retaining employees have become more important than ever. Research dealing with the appearance of new generations in the labour market has found that they are less loyal to their employers, have high demands, and the key factors that they consider when choosing a job are salary, career opportunities, working environment, and work-life balance. As numerous studies in recent years have proved the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the context of labour, the question has arisen whether opportunities for sport participation and services supporting the well-being of employees have an influence on young people when they are seeking employment. We carried out an online survey to find out what students of the University of Debrecen think about the issue. The results were in line with the findings of previous studies, that is, young people look for high salaries, good working conditions, work-life balance and career opportunities when choosing a job. However, respondents did not identify sports opportunities and well-being benefits as major factors Yet, we found significant differences between different groups in terms of preference of particular factors, depending on sex, marital status, and whether someone does physical exercises regularly, and whether someone works while attending a university course or not.


Author(s):  
Jan Digutsch ◽  
Maria Velana ◽  
Gerhard Rinkenauer ◽  
Sabrina Sobieraj

The theoretical framework of interactive work provides a multi-dimensional perspective on the interpersonal demands of nurses in nurse–patient interactions. It is defined by four dimensions: emotional labor directed to the self and others, cooperative work, and subjective acting. While the framework stems from qualitative research, the aim of the current study is to translate it into a quantitative scale to enable measurement of the high interpersonal demands that so often remain implicit. For this reason, we conducted an online survey study (N = 157; 130 women, 25 men, 2 divers) among professional nurses in Germany (spring 2021) to test the derived items and subscales concerning interactive work, which resulted in a 4-factor model that was verified with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The survey further captured additional information on established constructs concerning job-related well-being (e.g., burn out, meaningfulness), job characteristics (e.g., work interruptions, time pressure) and individual resources (coping strategies) that are supposed to correlate with interactive work demand scales for nurses (IWDS-N), to determine the quantitative nature of their relations. The results show that the subscales of the IWDS-N have adverse effects on indicators of work-related well-being. Moreover, negative job characteristics, such as time pressure, are positively correlated with subscales of the IWDS-N and are therefore problem-focused coping strategies as an individual resource. The results emphasize that a multidimensional consideration of self-regulatory processes is useful to capture the subtle and complex nature of the interactive work demands of nurses. The current study is the first that developed a quantitative, multi-dimensional measure for interactive work demands, which can help make implicit demands in service work explicit.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 945-946
Author(s):  
Courtney Polenick ◽  
Emily Perbix ◽  
Shreya Salwi ◽  
Donovan Maust ◽  
Kira Birditt ◽  
...  

Abstract Social distancing related to the COVID-19 pandemic may heighten loneliness among older adults, especially those with chronic conditions that increase risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. Little is known, however, about potential risk and protective factors linked to loneliness during the pandemic. In the present study, we examined factors associated with loneliness in a U.S. sample of adults aged 50 and older with at least one chronic condition. Participants included 701 adults aged 50 to 94 (M = 64.57 years, SD = 8.84) who were recruited over 8 consecutive weeks between May 14 and July 9, 2020 to complete an anonymous online survey. We estimated a series of multiple linear regressions to determine how sociodemographic characteristics, health characteristics, stress related to COVID-19, and social resources were independently associated with loneliness during the pandemic. Two-thirds of participants reported moderate to severe loneliness. The fully adjusted regression model showed that being a person of color, having a spouse or cohabiting partner, and reporting more emotional support were linked to lower levels of loneliness. Higher anxiety symptoms, more worry about being infected with COVID-19, and greater perceived financial strain because of COVID-19 were associated with higher levels of loneliness. These findings pinpoint potential targets for interventions to improve and maintain the well-being of a particularly vulnerable subgroup of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and in future public health crises.


2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 07006
Author(s):  
Viera Sukalova

Research background: Human resources today are well the most important and valuable resource of a company, and therefore it is very important that the company constantly deals with the field of working conditions. Working conditions represent a convex set of conditions, factors and other elements affecting the worker who performs the assigned work tasks for the employer and significantly affect his productivity, well-being, health and loyalty to the employer. Currently, the field of working conditions has been hit hard by the Covid 19 pandemic. The company's goal in the field of working conditions should be to create the best possible working conditions that will provide employees with a suitable and quality working environment, damage to health at work and benefits to increase their comfort. Purpose of the article: The aim of our article is to analyse the legal aspects of labour protection and working conditions in EU and Slovakia and to document on the Case study current problems of work management and also the impact of Covid 19 on employees’ working conditions. Methods: Analysis, Synthesis, Case study, Questionnaire We analyzed the current legislation of the EU and Slovakia in the field of occupational safety and working conditions, and on the example of a case study and the use of a questionnaire survey, we identified problems in this area. Findings & Value added: Identification of current problem areas in the management of working conditions and design of a system solution for sustainable development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13674
Author(s):  
Lixia Yao ◽  
Jie Gao

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a significant blow to the restaurant industry, with many restaurants suspending operations or closing altogether. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of emotional labor on employees’ well-being and the mediating role of self-efficacy in the context of chain restaurants. Data were collected in 2020 through an online survey in China, and results revealed that emotional labor had a significant impact on well-being that was measured in life and job satisfaction. Self-efficacy not only had a significant positive impact on employees’ job- and life-related well-being but also played a fully mediating role between deep acting and life satisfaction, with a partial mediating role between deep acting and job satisfaction. Job-related well-being also played a fully mediating role between deep acting and life satisfaction, with a partial mediating role between deep acting and job satisfaction. It is important for restaurant employees to develop deep acting skills and improve self-efficacy and job satisfaction Restaurant managers must establish a healthy working environment by providing better job support and creating a more relaxed working atmosphere.


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 663-668
Author(s):  
Sergey A. Druzhilov

Introduction. The current historical period is characterized by significant transformations in all spheres of life activity. The reasons for the changes are the development of information technologies and globalization processes. In the information (post-industrial) society, transformations are associated with the introduction of the principles of flexibility in job placement and labor organization. The transition to flexible forms of employment appears as a risk factor for the deterioration of working conditions and the reduction of workers’ security. “Social pollution” of the production environment is spreading. These include management methods that harm the well-being of workers.The aim of the study is the evaluation of the influence of flexibilities of employment and labor relations on the deterioration of working conditions as a risk factor for the well-being of workers.Material and methods. The study object in the article is flexibility as a socio-psychological and organizational-economic phenomenon. A comparative analysis of the views of various authors and their theoretical generalization.Results. A modern understanding of the information society as a society of network structures based on innovation and decentralization, as well as employment on adaptability to market conditions is presented. The introduction of the flexibility of employment means a departure from the standard model of labor relations. The negative consequences of labor flexibility for workers are given: instability, compulsion, unsteadiness, and lack of guarantees. Employment unsteadiness occurs both in the informal and formal sectors of the economy. The statistics cited indicate a trend towards an increase in the proportion of workers included in unsustainable and precarious employment. The influence of “social pollution” of the intra-organizational environment in the form of adverse management decisions introducing instability and unreliability in working conditions is considered. Their consequence is a violation of the social and psychological well-being and somatic health of workers. Conclusion. The more employment differs from the standard, the higher its instability, and lack of guarantees for the worker, the higher the risks of deterioration of working conditions, health, and job loss. There is a connection between the instability of employment, psychological well-being, and health.


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