Musculoskeletal pain among teleworkers: Frequency and associated factors

Teleworking, also known as remote working, has become the new norm for many workers since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Studies show that during this time, the incidence of musculoskeletal pain is increasing among these workers. Despite this, few studies have addressed the possible correlates of musculoskeletal paśin in teleworkers, with several potential predictors receiving little or no attention in published studies. With this in mind, an online survey was conducted among organizations in the IT and communications sectors in Malta. Information was collected from 459 teleworkers on the frequency of telework, frequency of work during nonworking hours, exercise frequency, burnout, and ergonomic arrangements. Demographic data were also collected. Results revealed that 55.8% reported one or more musculoskeletal pain. Back pain was the most common, followed by neck and shoulder pain. The presence of pain, the number of painful body areas, and the presence of back, neck, and shoulder pain were each individually associated with work during nonworking hours, lower levels of exercise, and higher levels of burnout. It is argued that musculoskeletal pain appears to be common among teleworkers and may negatively impact the quality of life and organizational performance. Companies and occupational health practitioners should strive to identify the prevalence of these problems among their teleworkers, develop appropriate preventive measures, and support workers to obtain multidisciplinary care when needed.     

Creating an effective training environment for enhancing telework

There is a growing need for research examining the effective implementation and management of teleworking as it is increasingly being used as an organizational work structure. The enhanced functionality of many information technologies facilitates the completion of work across geographically dispersed teleworkers while simultaneously providing a vehicle to overcome social isolation that has been viewed as an inhibitor of teleworker effectiveness. This research assesses two training methods that can be used to help teleworkers develop skill sets for using these technologies. The results suggest that using a game-based training method facilitates the training process by increasing users' intrinsic motivation resulting in increased intention to use the technology. This can be particularly important in enhancing the effective completion of team and individual telework while at the same time providing a mechanism to minimize teleworkers social isolation.     

Collaborative technologies in knowledge telework: an exploratory study

Abstract.  Knowledge workers in distributed work environments require substantial communication with colleagues and supervisors to perform their work activities, and collaborative technologies, like groupware, continue to improve the potential for such communication. This study investigates how an improvement in collaborative technology among a group of knowledge teleworkers impacts their communication patterns. The study focuses on one communication-based work process: knowledge sharing. The research involves a 6-month exploratory longitudinal case study of a group of teleworkers where a new groupware technology was implemented. The results indicate that while there are fewer instances of communication among group members after the technology is implemented, communication becomes more centralized around the district manager. These results suggest that increased collaborative technologies result in an adjustment between explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, as the availability of a centralized and updateable database reduces workgroup communications. However, consistent with structuration theory, telework group members do use communication technologies to address their most apparent needs and concerns. Other potential explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Ethics of Telework

A survey containing 18 ethical scenarios involving teleworkers, their managers, and the organizations that employ them illustrates teleworking's challenge to the issues of trust, time versus quality, and the definition of what work entails. New corporate policies that support all stakeholders will help resolve these issues and achieve telework's proven benefits.     

Supporting Telework: Obstacles and Solutions

Recent advances in telecommunications technology and transportation have freed many workers from the traditional model of fixed place of work in two major ways. First, many Americans have become telecommuters - spending at least a part of their regular business hours either in home offices, satellite offices or neighborhood work centers close to their homes, at customer sites, or on the road. Second, it has become increasingly common for work to be performed by virtual teams - where the membership of the team is not limited by the physical location of an employee's primary workplace or a team member's functional unit within the organization. The author first describes common obstacles that organizations and employees face when implementing these types of telework arrangements, and then presents both technological and managerial solutions to alleviate them.     

Haven or hell? Telework,flexibility and family in the e-society: a Marxist analysis

The reconfiguration of the home-work boundary that at-home telework entails has significant implications for gender issues and the use of ubiquitous information and communications technologies (ICTs). By presenting a Marx-inspired dialectical analysis of the family and home as both ‘haven and hell’, we develop a critique of proposed advantages for women home workers. Not only do we question the ability of ICTs to deliver the promises made on their behalf – we show how this socio-technical innovation may in fact contribute to compounding the double-burden of work associated with gender roles within the home. Contemporary critical understanding of the e-society should incorporate the influence of at-home teleworking because of its implications for the use of ubiquitous ICTs in the home environment, the shaping of work relations and its impact on gender issues. This increasing use of ICTs outside of the workplace is matched by the growing consensus within the European Union on the desirability of flexible working coupled with family friendly policies. This paper explores some of the rhetoric and research surrounding the proposed benefits of at home ‘telework’ and the likely cost–benefits, from an employee's perspective, in terms of increased freedom, reduced burden and ‘flexibility’.     

On the classification of telework

Information and communication technology (ICT) provides organizations with a whole range of new possibilities for performing work and structuring the organization. The technical, and to a certain extent the organizational development, has been rapid and there has not been the time for any consensus on concepts to evolve. This article is concentrated to a limited part of the area of organizations and ICT, telework and concepts related to telework. It is argued that many of these concepts—notably telework—have been used by so many authors in so many different ways that they have lost their specifity. They are defined in so many ways in different studies that they in each instance need to be further defined to clarify exactly what is being studied. The aim of the article is therefore not to propose new definitions but to show instead how it is possible to discriminate among telework situations by using dimensions, along which new ways of doing work can be further specified. We distinguish among forms of organizations such as telecommuting, multiflex, mobile work, satellite office, and virtual organization. We also discuss concepts regarding work places, such as neighbourhood work centres, resort offices, satellite work centres and mobile workplaces. We discriminate between the telework situations by discussing dimensions for forms of organization and workplaces, respectively.     

Software developer profession expanding

Employment prospects for software developers are looking up. There are a greater number of developer positions globally than there are qualified software engineers to fill them. Rapid growth in the number of available SE jobs is the primary reason for this gap between the demand for developers and the supply. Other factors are giving way or don't have as much impact as they might seem to. Fears about employability after the dot-com fallout are fading. And, while in many countries, more jobs appear to be moving abroad, most of these countries see the number of available domestic openings outpace domestic developer numbers.     

Determinants of business sustainability: An ergonomics perspective

There is a need to integrate both macro- and micro-ergonomic approaches for the effective implementation of interventions designed to improve the root causes of problems such as work safety, quality and productivity in the enterprise system. The objective of this study was to explore from an ergonomics perspective the concept of business sustainability through optimising the worker–work environment interface. The specific aims were: (a) to assess the working conditions of a production department work process with the goal to jointly optimise work safety, quality and quantity; (b) to evaluate the enterprise-wide work process at the system level as a social entity in an attempt to trace the root causes of ergonomic issues impacting employees throughout the work process. The Work Compatibility Model was deployed to examine the experiences of workers (that is, effort, perceived risk/benefit, performance and satisfaction/dissatisfaction or psychological impact) and their associations with the complex domains of the work environment (task content, physical and non-physical work environment and conditions for learning/growth/development). This was followed by assessment of the enterprise system through detailed interviews with department managers and lead workers. A system diagnostic instrument was also constructed from information derived from the published literature to evaluate the enterprise system performance. The investigation of the production department indicated that the stress and musculoskeletal pain experienced by workers (particularly on the day shift) were derived from sources elsewhere in the work process. The enterprise system evaluation and detailed interviews allowed the research team to chart the feed-forward and feedback stress propagation loops in the work system. System improvement strategies were extracted on the basis of tacit/explicit knowledge obtained from department managers and lead workers. In certain situations concerning workplace human performance issues, a combined macro–micro ergonomic methodology is essential to solve the productivity, quality and safety issues impacting employees along the trajectory or path of the enterprise-wide work process. In this study, the symptoms associated with human performance issues in one production department work process had root causes originating in the customer service department work process. In fact, the issues found in the customer service department caused performance problems elsewhere in the enterprise-wide work process such as the traffic department. Sustainable enterprise solutions for workplace human performance require the integration of macro- and micro-ergonomic approaches.     

Determinants of business sustainability: an ergonomics perspective

There is a need to integrate both macro- and micro-ergonomic approaches for the effective implementation of interventions designed to improve the root causes of problems such as work safety, quality and productivity in the enterprise system. The objective of this study was to explore from an ergonomics perspective the concept of business sustainability through optimising the worker-work environment interface. The specific aims were: (a) to assess the working conditions of a production department work process with the goal to jointly optimise work safety, quality and quantity; (b) to evaluate the enterprise-wide work process at the system level as a social entity in an attempt to trace the root causes of ergonomic issues impacting employees throughout the work process. The Work Compatibility Model was deployed to examine the experiences of workers (that is, effort, perceived risk/benefit, performance and satisfaction/dissatisfaction or psychological impact) and their associations with the complex domains of the work environment (task content, physical and non-physical work environment and conditions for learning/growth/development). This was followed by assessment of the enterprise system through detailed interviews with department managers and lead workers. A system diagnostic instrument was also constructed from information derived from the published literature to evaluate the enterprise system performance. The investigation of the production department indicated that the stress and musculoskeletal pain experienced by workers (particularly on the day shift) were derived from sources elsewhere in the work process. The enterprise system evaluation and detailed interviews allowed the research team to chart the feed-forward and feedback stress propagation loops in the work system. System improvement strategies were extracted on the basis of tacit/explicit knowledge obtained from department managers and lead workers. In certain situations concerning workplace human performance issues, a combined macro-micro ergonomic methodology is essential to solve the productivity, quality and safety issues impacting employees along the trajectory or path of the enterprise-wide work process. In this study, the symptoms associated with human performance issues in one production department work process had root causes originating in the customer service department work process. In fact, the issues found in the customer service department caused performance problems elsewhere in the enterprise-wide work process such as the traffic department. Sustainable enterprise solutions for workplace human performance require the integration of macro- and micro-ergonomic approaches.     

Supporting intergenerational groups in computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW)

The workforce is ageing as older workers re-enter the workforce or delay retirement. One consequence is that work groups are increasingly becoming intergenerational. Because group work relies on many collaborative tools (e.g. email, shared calendars), it is essential to understand the special requirements that intergenerational groups have for groupware. Can we design collaborative tools that leverage the differing abilities and contributions of older and younger workers in groups? We focus on how best to support intergenerational groups, offering an analytical framework that combines ideas from the theory of small groups and activity theory. We consider design implications for computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and outline design principles for groupware that supports intergenerational groups. Finally, we discuss methodological issues that arise when studying intergenerational cooperative work.     

Managerial competence and new technology: don't shoot the piano player— he' s doing his best

Much concern has been expressed over the last few years regarding the lack of success of British companies when introducing new technology. Though many explanations have been given for this, often there is one common factor: the competence of British managers. This article examines the relationship between managerial competence and the poor record of British companies in successfully introducing new technology. It argues that in examining these issues too much attention is paid to the final decisions taken by managers, and their consequences, and not enough to the context— the organizational circumstances— in which the decisions are arrived at. It begins by examining the impact of organizational structures and practices (socio-structure) on managerial decision-making. Empirical evidence relating to the purchase of computer systems is presented which shows how socio-structure limits and shapes managerial behaviour and success with new technology. It then proceeds to discuss the relationship between socio-structure and culture, arguing that these need to be in harmony if organisations are to operate effectively. The article concludes by positing that many cases of poor decision-making owe more to inappropriate and conflicting socio-structures and cultures than to the competence of individual managers.     

Technological change and the older employee: implications for introduction and training

How do older employees cope with technological change at their place of work? To answer this question, an exploratory study was conducted in which interviews were held with 34 older employees in the office, 23 supervisors, personnel managers and representatives of workers, and seven computer trainers. The older employees were classified into three groups depending on their dominant form of appraisal of computers: threat/challenge/irrelevant. While participants who experienced computers as a challenge favoured information-seeking activities, older staff members who felt threatened by computers reacted rather passively and often complained about increasing time-pressure and health-related problems. In contrast, members of the group which appraised computers as irrelevant were quite satisfied with their work and consequently reported hardly any coping behaviour. A further analysis showed that organizational factors were closely connected with the dominant form of appraisal. Therefore recommendations are given concerning the introductory phase of technological change and qualificational measures.     

Technological change and the older employee: implications for introduction and training

Abstract

How do older employees cope with technological change at their place of work? To answer this question, an exploratory study was conducted in which interviews were held with 34 older employees in the office, 23 supervisors, personnel managers and representatives of workers, and seven computer trainers. The older employees were classified into three groups depending on their dominant form of appraisal of computers: threat/challenge/irrelevant. While participants who experienced computers as a challenge favoured information-seeking activities, older staff members who felt threatened by computers reacted rather passively and often complained about increasing time-pressure and health-related problems. In contrast, members of the group which appraised computers as irrelevant were quite satisfied with their work and consequently reported hardly any coping behaviour. A further analysis showed that organizational factors were closely connected with the dominant form of appraisal. Therefore recommendations are given concerning the introductory phase of technological change and qualificational measures.     

Video connecting families and social robots: from ideas to practices putting technology to work

Technology use is a socially embedded process, especially when it comes to older adults and care. However, the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have limited social contact to protect vulnerable groups in care homes, and even if technology use has increased in other areas, there is little known about the potential uptake of communication technology and changes in social interaction in the care context during a lasting crisis. This paper explores changes in communication technology use triggered by the pandemic at two care homes, using a qualitative diary study, online interviews and observations, and in-situ interviews within the care home with residents and workers. Our findings point to increasing use of tablets and video conference software triggered by COVID-related experiences, with implications for living and working in care homes. We also characterise the isolation experience of the residents, the workers’ concerns about the residents and changes in social interaction. We observed new areas of technology usage, associated changing work practices, technical affinity issues and context-specific attitudes towards future technologies. While the pandemic has triggered the use of communication technology in care homes on a small scale, this has also caused increasing workload and in particular articulation work, which requires support structures and the re-definition of work roles.

     

Perception of the Climate for Creativity in the Workplace: the Role of the Level in the Organization and Gender

This paper reports a study conducted to examine differences between employees in managerial and non‐managerial positions, as well as between men and women, in their perception of climate for creativity in the workplace. It was hypothesized that, in general, managers would perceive the climate as more favourable than non‐managers, and this discrepancy should be modulated by gender. The questionnaire used in the study, conceptually grounded in Amabile's empirical and theoretical work on creativity and innovation, was administered to 388 respondents: 229 female and 159 male participants drawn from a wide range of Polish work organizations. The results show that managers perceive the climate as significantly more conducive to creativity than non‐managers do. Female employees perceive the climate less favourably than male employees, although these differences appeared smaller and less frequent as compared to the managers/non‐managers comparisons. Moreover, higher positions of female participants in the organization do not improve their perception of the climate to the same extent as it does in the case of male participants. Implications and areas for future research are explored.     

Safety climate and health complaints in the Norwegian aquaculture industry

Few studies have explored the potential connection between safety climate and health issues. However, some recent research findings indicate that a poor safety climate can be considered a stressor that may be associated with physical symptoms and musculoskeletal complaints. This link is further explored in the present study on the basis of a questionnaire study of 446 sharp-end workers in the Norwegian aquaculture industry. The analysis revealed that self-reported health complaints (musculoskeletal pain, headaches and fatigue) are negatively related to safety climate, i.e. the more positive the safety climate, the fewer the health complaints. The study finds that the following two safety climate factors are particularly important: work pressure and safety involvement. This means that self-reported health complaints are higher among workers who experience (a) a prioritisation of production and efficiency at the expense of safety, and (b) a lack of involvement in safety decisions. Regarding relevance to the industry, these relationships indicate the existence of a supplementary managerial pathway for the prevention of occupational health issues.     

Organizational options for preventing work-related stress in knowledge work

Recent studies point to work-related stress as an increasing problem for knowledge workers. However, the working life in knowledge-intensive companies is often described as good and stimulating. The aim of this study is to explore the organizational options for preventing work-related problems in knowledge work. This calls for a study of the characteristics of knowledge work, stress management interventions and an in-depth analysis of the organizational factors causing frustrations and work-related problems in relation to knowledge work. In a qualitative study, 27 respondents were interviewed. They represented different stakeholders in five Danish knowledge-intensive companies, which comprised two consultancies and three engineering consulting companies.The study shows that knowledge work comprises a paradox, since the same work-related or organizational issues could be experienced as both an opportunity and a source of stress. The stress interventions applied are short-term and focus on the individual; consequently, they affect long-term prevention, which focuses on changing the organizational and managerial circumstances. Finally, the in-depth analysis shows that the organizational factors in the organizational design are not aligned, which consequently has an unsolicited effect on both daily activities and the human factors.The findings suggest that if the central components in the organizational design were aligned, the benefits could include reduced absenteeism and turnover as well as higher productivity.Relevance to industryThe paper identifies organizational options on which managers, employees and ergonomists can focus when initiating new stress management practices and preventive changes aimed at redesigning knowledge work.     

Age, luminance, and print legibility in homes, offices, and public places.

Field studies were conducted in homes, offices, and public places with younger and older adults to determine how legibility performance (in a proofreading and phone book search) changes with age and luminance. Homes and public places generally exhibited much lower than recommended luminance values for reading. Older adults had higher light levels in their homes than did younger adults at reading locations. Older adults performed less quickly than did younger adults on most legibility tasks. Adding light helped younger and older adults equally for most legibility tasks (in homes and public places), though increased luminance differentially improved the performance of older office workers. In response to feedback about low light levels, nearly 60% of building managers in public places indicated in a 6-month follow-up that they had improved lighting or were planning to do so. Actual or potential applications of this work include setting luminance guidelines for adults and identifying barriers to lighting changes.